Very Important Person
by Jessica-X
Summary: Elsa Norberg, leading star of the enduring soap opera Into The Unknown, has to live a life in the closet or risk alienating the network. Out of sheer frustration, she turns to camgirls, thinking it will be a quick fix - and not expecting to become fixated on one with red hair. [Elsanna, non-related; novella]
1. Chapter 1

**Very Important Person**

A Risque Elsanna AU  
by Jessica X

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WARNINGS: Characters © Diznay. Story and other details ©2019 to me! NSFW, very obviously. Commissioned by Pankite, who provided the original prompt. VERY SHORT CHAPTERS.

NOTE: I thought a little Elsanna in your stocking would help to cap off the holiday for you. My original commission terms with Pankite were per 1000 word increments, so I had the (probably silly) idea that each chapter should be roughly 1000 words. A sort of self-challenge.

Merry Christmas, everybody! And for those of you celebrating Hanukkah, there will be more chapters in the coming days – this is NOT a little one-shot, trust me! Hope you enjoy!

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CHAPTER ONE

The wink did it.

Of course there were plenty of girls on LenzLaydeez. The first time Elsa Norberg had visited the site out of mingling curiosity and desperation, she was _overwhelmed_ by the sheer number of little thumbnails of various women from all walks of life - a lot of teen queens, of course, but there were mature ladies, trans women, every race, every orientation… and she just closed the browser. Some tiny part of her brain broke from information overload mingling with her shame and she needed to recover.

The next time, she was more prepared. Months of frustration necessitated she go back. The biggest problem was that after balking at _yet another_ romantic scene with her male costar, Brixton Benson, her producers reminded her that she was playing a straight woman. _Into The Unknown_ was one of the biggest soap operas on American daytime TV, and their dazzling blonde centerpiece being seen dating other women would "undermine the believability" of her role, allegedly. Their ideals were so outdated… but she didn't want to get on their bad sides. The rumours were that anybody who didn't play ball would get blacklisted throughout Hollywood.

Of all people, it was actually her co-star Honey Martin who had first given her the idea. As a joke. _"Why don't I just give up on dating and watch guys jerk off on one of those random chat website things? Probably way easier with my schedule."_ And while Elsa had no interest in guys, the rest of the flippant comment had appealed to her more than she wanted to admit.

So back to the camgirls she went. The frustrated soap queen scrolled the page, laughing at a few of the thumbnails; this was not her thing. It wasn't going to work because those silly antics didn't do anything for her, and most of all, she knew what she really wanted was a real live woman in her arms… but a prostitute was even worse than looking at girls online, and dangerous to boot. So she was stuck.

And then… she saw _Kim._

"Oh, hellooooo," she muttered as her fingertip grazed over the touchscreen to move the pointer to Kim's little thumbnail. Trim, petite body, perfect legs, and that emerald green bikini did things to her that she couldn't understand. Those waves of vibrant red hair… probably a wig, but it still melted her so effectively. There was this instant connection she felt _powerfully_ but she couldn't describe. "Let's see a little more of you."

The thumbnail began to move. Apparently the site provided little previews and this one showed this freckle-dusted adorable face pouting for the camera, grinning and winking, then reclining back on the small pile of pillows at the head of the bed to rub up and down her toned stomach.

But it was that wink that drew her in. The perfect balance of playful and sensual; this girl knew what she was doing but wasn't afraid to have fun. It hooked her instantly.

When she entered the room, Kim was in mid-sentence: "-anything you want. Just click that cute little VIP button and we can have some one-on-one fun!"

Elsa was still shivering at the timbre of that melodious voice when some party noise maker sound effects went off, and confetti splashed around the edges of the video feed. What the hell? But a second later her new favorite camgirl answered the question.

"Thanks, KristOnKrutches! Every little bit helps!" And she made sure to add a playful giggle. "Now, I'm not saying _all_ you guys have to tip me, but hey, don't you want to see your little Kimmy have a _very_ Merry Christmas?"

It was then she noticed the chat. Before that moment, her eyes had only been for Kim and her antics, but now she saw a flurry of messages reassuring the girl that they did, indeed, want her to have a nice holiday. This was closely followed by another shower of confetti indicating someone had sent a little money her way.

"Awwww, Roninator, you're so sweet!" She blew a little kiss toward the camera and giggled again. "Now… vote with your wallets! Do you want to see me dance, do some gymnastic moves, or… eat this entire chocolate cake? I'm gonna ask again and you tip me when I'm on the one you want!"

Did she hear that right? One of the options was _eating an entire cake?!_ No, she definitely did — because now the adorable ginger was holding up a platter with a chocolate confection upon it. Not that it was of a size that would serve several people, but at least two or three could have enjoyed it together, and she was claiming she would devour the thing alone.

Before she knew what she was doing, Elsa was signing up for an account and inputting her credit card information. Luckily, she still had time; Kim was collecting tips to watch her dance. By the time she asked about the cake again, she could hit that tip jar button and send a shower of confetti of her own.

"Woooow, we got some foodies in the audience today!" the girl eventually giggled with a huge grin. "It's a tie! Well, I guess I'm just going to have to dance while eating the cake, aren't I?"

Amazing. Elsa leaned in to observe closely, eyes eager for a spectacle the likes of which she had never anticipated.

For which she was rewarded. Kim somehow made it _almost_ sexy to stuff chocolate in her face, smearing it all over her lips and cheeks, as she gyrated and bounced her perky butt in front of the camera. The other members ate it up, saying it was the hottest thing they had ever seen. And Elsa…

Elsa was laughing her ass off. This was the highest quality entertainment she had ever encountered — and she worked in the entertainment industry! They could learn a thing or two from this random e-girl.

"Oh my GOB," she managed around a mouthful. "It's _soooooo_ good! You guys have to try this!" Then she held out a handful to the camera before giggling and withdrawing it again. "Soooorryyyyy, guess you have to have the VIP treatment to eat from my hand."

No… they were _all_ eating out of her hand. It was just that easy, and she was just that charismatic. Even though she was wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, deep down Elsa already knew she was on the hook for the girl with cake all over herself.

"Mmm, add to favourites," she muttered to herself as she clicked on the little star in the corner of the page. She would definitely be back.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Elsa's return visit didn't happen right away. Thanks to morning-after-regrets and her usual anxiety, it took the poor, lonely actor a week or so to return to LenzLaydeez because she was in heavy denial. That she needed it, that she was already hooked on Kim… lots of reasons. Though she did have to take a thirty-minute shower to cool herself down.

Instead, she immersed herself in her work, which was easy to do. Most of her friends — which was a term used loosely in this case, since they were more like "connections" that she used in the industry — would be the first to assert that she was a workaholic. When she wasn't on the set of the soap, she was doing press tours, appearing on morning shows, and doing assorted other silly things like ribbon-cuttings at local strip malls. Even if she did want to slow down, they had to finish taping the big Christmas special before they could go on break for a while.

Sometimes, she hated her life. Despised how little time it left her to form real bonds of friendship with the people around her. Even having just one friend would feel like a miracle at this point. Her parents were big name actors themselves and had expected such great things of her and she felt like she had no choice. She had been in commercials when she was a baby, Nick and Disney sitcoms when she was a preteen. Straight into the child star machine with no room to learn how to be a human.

The last straw was actually a two-pronged attack on her sanity. Firstly, she had to do yet _another_ kissing scene with Matthias Shaw, the chiseled ebony beefcake with whom throngs of her fans were thrilled to see her in any scene. Brixton wasn't even a bad kisser but she still didn't want to kiss men regardless. But the second thing… it was the real gut punch.

The BMW dealership was closed for renovation when her engine started knocking and pinging. Of course it was. So Elsa checked her phone for a fairly reputable garage in the area and dropped by to get her vehicle sorted out. The bespectacled man at the counter assured her that it would be ready within the hour, so she caught an Uber to go do a little shopping.

When she came back two hours later and it still wasn't ready, having nothing else to do, she decided to poke around in the shop itself. Seeing the denim-covered legs poking out from under the car, she asked, "Sir?" No response. "Hi. I'm the owner of this vehicle, and I was wondering… how soon do you think it will be finished?"

Still no reply. Perhaps it was her fault for interrupting and sticking her nose in where it didn't belong - except it _was_ her car. Her nose belonged there. And she might have accepted a gruff reply to go and wait, but not even deigning to reply to her?

"Listen," she sighed, "I think it's a little rude you refuse to acknowledge me at all. I'm not invisible, and I doubt you would treat a male customer this way."

That earned her a laugh. And when the mechanic wheeled out from under the car, she understood.

"You'd be wrong, _flaca,_" the grease-smeared Latina chuckled up at her. This girl was _cute_ \- and definitely a girl, she couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen_._ Luscious lips, mischievous dark eyes, and even pulled back by the hat she could tell her waves of black hair would be fun to run her fingers through. "I talk to eeeeeverybody like that. You ain't special."

"Oh." Still taken aback, she cleared her throat. "M-my apologies." When the girl started to roll back under the car, she asked, "Wait, what's… 'flaca' mean?"

"You, America's Next Top Model. Tall, skinny, white as a blizzard, pretty much."

"I thought 'gringo' meant 'white'."

"Noooo, no. You would be a 'gring_a'_ \- and that just means you're not Latina. 'Blanquita' would be me calling you a white girl. But you're a flaca. If you want the rest of the Spanish lesson, it's nine ninety-nine."

Chuckling slightly as her cheeks pinkened, she decided to confess. "I only know a little Swedish and German from my parents. I'm terrible at other languages."

"Fine with me." A couple of seconds of silence before she sighed. "Okay, okay. Your car will be ready in about thirty minutes; I'm almost through."

"Okay. Th-thank you so much."

"_De nada, flaca."_

And that was it. That was the other incident.

Why did that destroy the soap starlet so much? Simple; she liked the girl. The man at the counter informed her that her name was Audrey, but that would be all she ever learned about the adorable mechanic. Because she didn't have the confidence to ask her out. She listened to her studio, to her sort-of-friends, to her parents. Just because some Hollywood types were flaunting sexualities like fashion statements didn't mean just anyone could do it. And since the _Into The Unknown_ writers had expressly forbade her from coming out as long as she wanted to remain employed, she had to stay in the camp of those who could not.

Therefore, she would never know what it was like to keep sweet Audrey's company outside of that single car repair. Poor Elsa was even tempted to _sabotage_ her Beamer purely to see her again. But that really was stupid; it would just be more of the same story, even if she went back. And clearly the mechanic had no interest in her as a friend.

So… back to LenzLaydeez she went. But she was in for a shock.

Kim was gone. In her place were dozens and dozens of other girls. She clicked between a few of their feeds aimlessly, trying to tell herself they were all the same. They weren't. Her need to _hunt_ kicked in, and she found herself deep diving into every corner of the site. She turned up a couple Kims, but they were both Asian. The so-called "archives" didn't even display her at all.

Where did the object of her affections go?

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: I'm glad you guys are liking this so far! Commissions are still open if anyone's interested. (See my Tumblr, Forkanna, for details)

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CHAPTER THREE

A couple of weeks later, Elsa got her answer. She had been checking LenzLaydeez every single night; never for long, but just enough to see if that cake-devouring cutie had returned. No such luck. Her life mostly moved on; she wrapped the holiday special, and brought down the New Year's ball in Times Square with stars that were much bigger than herself - though her leading role in the upcoming film, _Baby So Sweet,_ was going to shatter that ceiling. Really help her career take off. She could only hope that, maybe, she could ditch the soap and stop living in the closet – or else use leaving as an excuse to embrace her sexuality instead of mourning it.

The advert called her Roxanne but she would know that face and hair anywhere. It looked as if she had her own website now? No matter. Elsa had never clicked a pop-up window so fast in her life.

Picture after picture of her beloved Kim littered the home page, along with a couple of animated gifs. A dream come true. She was tempted to save a few to her hard drive… but resisted it. All she needed was for her laptop to get stolen and someone to find _that_ on there.

There was even a schedule. Perfect! Now she wouldn't have to guess at when she might find her favorite camgirl doing her thing. It looked as if she had finished for the night but would be doing the same thing tomorrow. And Elsa planned to be there.

~ o ~

"NorthMountainMan! What's new, pussycat?"

Elsa Norberg snorted as she settled in on her side, pulling the laptop closer as she stretched her legs out along her silk sheets. Her house was so empty and _lonely_ during the evenings, when her maid had gone home. Some of her other famous friends had full staff 24-7 but she always knew that was too much for her; she had even resisted the maid until Honey threatened to take pictures of her messy house and spew them all over Insta.

There was silence for a minute or so as Kim - Roxanne? - kicked her feet back and forth over her black-clad ass, crossed at the ankles. The epitome of a casual girly pose. One cheek was propped on a fist while her other hand toyed with her mouse. The bedroom was completely different, but still very nondescript; pink walls and red sheets, but there was nothing else.

"Awww, what's the matter?" she fake-pouted. "Just window-shopping?"

Was she still talking to her? Elsa glanced at the chat: it was _empty._ Either she didn't have many new followers on this site yet, or they just hadn't logged in. Did she have… Kim… all to herself? Maybe she should say something.

'_Hi.'_

Brilliant. "Tolstoy has nothing on you," she hissed at herself aloud, facepalming. But when she heard a little giggle her hand whipped away.

"Hi yourself. Looks like you're the first one to the party! Hmm…" She tapped her chin. "I'm not allowed to give away the good stuff for free, _buuuut…_ do you have anything you want that doesn't require me stripping outta these?"

As Roxanne snapped the shoulder strap of her matching bra, Elsa tried not to break into a cold sweat. This was different than just watching her flaunt it for the camera; this was _truly interactive_ now. Maybe she could ask for another dance. Or maybe just to shake her ass, that would be fun.

'_Tell me about yourself.'_

"Me?" she asked with a laugh - and Elsa felt her face heating up. That was the best she could do?! "Weeeeell, I'm from Arizona… or I was raised there, anyway. Just doing a little camming to pay the bills; same old story. What about you, mystery man?"

What could she say? Not a bald-faced lie; she actually did want to know this girl better, despite the circumstances. _'I'm in the film industry.'_

"Oh, great, a critic," she giggled. "How am I doing, Director?"

'_Perfect.'_

"Woooow, thanks! Keep buttering me up like that and I might have to throw in a couple extra minutes if you hit that VIP button!"

Elsa almost let it go, but she found she couldn't. _'I'm not buttering you up. You're gorgeous.'_

"Wait, whaaaaaat?" she drawled out, waving her hand back and forth. _"Stahhhp._ My webcam is cheap and I definitely didn't learn from some kinda selfie-sensei. Total amateur hour over here."

'_Doesn't matter. You're a natural, and I really mean that. I could watch you all day and never be bored. Charisma for days and an instantly likable face and voice.'_

By now, Roxanne was grinning. "Uh huh. And this is where you offer me a part in your movie, right?"

'_I would if I could. But you would never trust that I'm not an axe murderer, or running some kind of cult.'_

This laugh was very genuine, and Elsa felt like she could _tell_ it was. She smiled as she watched this freckle-faced bombshell roll over to sit up, then sat cross-legged in front of her keyboard. For a second she was focused on her decent abs… and then she wafted it out of her mind.

"Okay, you're pretty good. And you haven't typed 'free pussy please' or 'show feet' yet so you're one up on most of the guys from last night." She glanced at something, then nodded to herself. "Sorry - was checking that you're still my only viewer. I don't wanna offend the customers, y'know?"

'_I understand. Believe me if there's anything I get about your job that's the same as mine it's that we have to play to our audience or we won't have a job anymore.'_

Roxanne gestured to the camera with an open palm. "See? You get it, right away. Smart man. The world could use a few more of you." She glanced up and to her right, then smiled at the camera again - a little more plastic like it was when she first joined the feed. "Soooo, if you feel like tipping, I'd sure appreciate that, Mountie. Hit that little old button and maybe I'll start taking acting classes. Eh? Yeah? Might even see you someday and I could… be very grateful…"

Damn it all, this was still getting to her. Even having seen the real Roxanne for an instant didn't prevent the little thrill in the pit of her stomach as she watched her running the tip of her index finger over her bottom lip. _Incredible._

"Ohhhh, hey, BradSkates - and Maximo88! What's up?"

More viewers; some of the guys were getting off work and logging on to find their daily spank material. SHIT. Elsa was going to lose this tenuous connection to her crush. She knew she should just accept it, learn to share… none of this mattered, anyway. She was just a cam girl.

Just a gorgeous, vibrant redhead who took her breath away.

"Whoop! Okay guys, my NorthMountie bro just paid for a little VIP treatment! So help yourself to this clip from last night and I'll be back in a few!"

_Gulp._

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The instant Elsa had been bumped up to VIP, she saw the resolution changed. In fact, the entire page changed; now all the ads and things around the borders were gone. The chat was still there, but the rest of the page was now devoted fully to Roxanne's feed and the little buttons beneath her.

"Wow, you really did that," she purred with a big grin.

'_DId what?'_

"C'mon, don't kid a kidder. You liked having me all to yourself, and as soon as those other guys came in you sniped me into VIP."

Hating just how hot her neck and cheeks were growing, Elsa typed, _'Wow thanks for calling me out.'_

"Awww, I'm just teasing you." Her eyelashes fluttered innocently before she smirked like a fox. "Okay. You've got five minutes. What do you want me to start off with?"

'_I just want to hear more about you.'_

"Ohhhh, one of those." Hearing herself, she held up a hand and hastily added, "Which is fine! Like, don't get me wrong, I'm not- I wasn't trying to yuck your yum or whatever. We get a lot of guys who are more into just… paying for a little company. Like, obviously more guys who want to see my pussy, but it's your dollar."

SEE HER PUSSY. Now Elsa was full-on blushing, and trying to ignore sensations running into all areas of her body. But that was artificial; she knew it was part and parcel of the camgirl experience, but she still felt it was "cutting in line". What she wanted was to date this girl. Intelligently, she knew that wasn't possible, but…

'_My dollar would be better spent taking you out to dinner.'_

"Oooh, a romaaaaantic," she drawled out with a giggle. "But I mean, you are, kind of. The money you spent on this is gonna help me eat at some point or another."

'_Yeah? Chocolate cake again or do you eat real food?'_

"Chocolate-" Her eyes went wide, and she fell silent as she blinked a couple of times. The silence deepened until it actually became awkward.

'_Are you okay?'_

"You… saw that. How could you, I'm not even…" She licked her lips, a little distressed. "U-um… so did you want me to take any of this off?"

'_Wait. I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.'_

"It's fine," she told her with a practiced smile. "I just didn't know I had a… fan on my hands."

Stalker. She meant _stalker_ and Elsa knew it, and she felt her anxiety spiking through the roof. That was what she was. And it had been more or less unintentional; she was a fan who jumped at the chance to remain a fan when she stumbled upon her change in employment. But she had to clear the air.

'_I swear I didn't mean to stalk you. I just wanted to see more of you on LenzLaydeez.'_

"Y-yeah," Roxanne giggled, throat constricting as she swallowed. "Smart guy like you, hunting me down. I'm impressed." No, she wasn't. She was _scared._

'_You have no reason to believe me but I didn't. Your name is gone from that site and I thought I would never see you again.'  
_'_But I saw a pop up for your new site and I instantly recognised you.'  
_'_Maybe I should go.'_

"Wait!" she piped up, crawling a little closer to the webcam. "Y-you paid for the whole treatment, right? Let me… show you a little something."

'_No.'_

This time, Roxanne was incredulous. "No? I mean… what are we doing here, then? Don't you want the whole Roxanne experience? Or…" She glanced anxiously off to one side. "The _Kim_ experience?"

'_I want to go back in time and not frighten you. It was never my intention and I'm sorry.'_

By now, the poor girl was at a loss. She tried for another smile, leaned a little closer to the camera. "It doesn't matter. I just want to be sexy for you. I mean, you already paid, and I… I'm not about taking money that I didn't earn. Okay? So maybe…"

But she trailed off when she saw more words appear: _'The money is yours. I was stupid. You're charming and sweet and you deserve to feel safe. I'm sorry.'_

Then Elsa slammed the lid of the laptop shut before anything more could happen. The last image burned into her memory was one of a puzzled Roxanne looking straight into the camera eye, mouth slightly open. Wondering what to make of her potential stalker.

"Story of my life," Elsa sobbed aloud as she got up and made herself get ready for bed. As if she could actually sleep at all tonight; not very likely.

~ o ~

The next day, she did her best to forget everything. Went to the gym, called her parents and had the usual tense chat about her career trajectory and her lack of husband. She had tried explaining her woes with the soap situation, and they were patient and not at all cruel, _but_ also told her the studio had every right to protect their image, and she would eventually find a nice man and settle down. They often suggested Brad this or Chris that as potential mates and she politely declined their matchmaking attempts.

"So I've got you booked on Ellen in two days," her agent, Edna, was telling her brusquely as they sipped their expensive lattes in an expensive cafe. She would have been fine with Starbucks but the diminutive woman insisted; she might have needed a high chair, but she commanded respect wherever she went. "That Sunday morning show on, well, Sunday. And don't forget the premiere is in a few weeks, darling."

"Mmm."

Raising her eyebrows at the sullen star, Edna adjusted her glasses and snapped, "What's the matter with you? Hm? Well? I am giving you gold and you are giving me nothing, nothing at all. _Work_ with me."

"It's… a personal matter. I'm afraid I hurt someone without meaning to."

"Well, they'll get over it. You are Elsa Norberg, and you are a shooting star, girl," she told her with a no-nonsense look. "Strut your stuff and let the world worship the ground you walk on. Take it from me - or did you forget I molded Nicole? Julia? Elizabeth?"

"I haven't," she sighed with a weary smile. "And I'm grateful for your expertise. But I can't be in a good mood _all_ the time, can I?"

Before Edna could retort, her phone went off. And when she saw the alert all sound seemed to cease around her. She had an email.

_From Roxanne._

_To Be Continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Elsa was seated on a toilet in the cafe restroom before she could open the email. Edna had demanded to know what was so important, but she had muttered something along the lines of "be right back" and excused herself; she couldn't remember now. Her entire focus was on what she was about to read.

'_NorthMountainMan,_

'_I've never done this before, I don't message fans bc it makes them think we're really dating or something. Plus it isn't fair to the other fans. But like I could tell you were really upset by how I reacted. I'm sorry, I've had stalkers before and sure they never like found out where I live or anything craycray but it still spooked me. So I thought you were one of those. If you pay for VIP again (I can't do full freebies, I might have my own site but I still work for a company and all that lol) I can give you some extra minutes as an apology. But if I don't see you again I don't want you to feel bad. It's part of the business not what you did._

'_XOXO, Roxanne'_

Relief spread through Elsa like warmth from a bowl of hot chicken soup. _She didn't hate her._ After a minute, she found she was crying in gratitude, even though nobody would ever know it. Which made it a lot harder to type, so the message took a few minutes to compose.

'_Roxanne,_

'_Thank you so much for your message. This is going to sound like a line but I never do this. You are the only camgirl I've ever watched for more than a minute or two, and the only one I've spent money on. Something about you caught my attention right away and you still have it. So when you disappeared from LL I tried to watch a few other girls but it wasn't the same… I just really liked you, I thought you were so cute and funny, and playful. Everything about you is what I dream of, and what I wish I could have in my life. The popup for your new site was like a miracle! But you probably get a million messages like this one so I'm sorry. I'll try to get on tonight and watch you again if my schedule permits. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day.'_

Too sappy. Elsa sighed, and went to hold down the backspace button with her thumb; she would just rewrite the whole-

Nope. She hit 'send' instead.

"WHAT?! NO!" she burst out, leaning further forward on the toilet seat. She heard someone clear their throat in another stall, but she didn't care about them; this was a lot worse. This was _dire._ Could she un-send an email? No, that didn't seem possible.

So now she would just have to deal with the consequences. Groaning, she forced herself to get up and wash her hands and head back to her table. She had an irate Edna to deal with for now.

~ o ~

It was hard working up the courage to log into the site again. She was an hour into Roxanne's scheduled camming time when she did; she knew the girl would be on there for another few hours yet, but still felt as if she were "late" - ridiculous. She was being ridiculous about this whole thing.

"-why applesauce is bullshit," she was saying with a light chuckle once the video loaded. Same bedroom, but a pale pink underwear set this time. "Like, when you can make hot apple cider or apple pie, why would you… oh."

There were a few messages from worried men when she stopped to blink at her screen. Elsa was also concerned for a moment until she realised _she_ was the cause. Then her ears started to warm up. She hadn't even typed anything yet; was Roxanne watching the usernames for her? No way.

"Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, right; I'm, um, I like apples but applesauce is kinda not my thing. Next question?"

Trying to get over her hangups, she typed: _'How do you feel about wine?'_

The girl bit her lip for a moment - _how was that so attractive there ought to be a law_ \- and then said, "Hey, NorthMountie. Um… I'm not much of a wine drinker. Not much of a drinker at all, but I'm totally a piña colada and daiquiri kinda girl; fruity stuff, fun stuff. Beer if I really have to get something cheap."

'_So a sweet wine would be more your thing?'_

"Yeah! Like, I don't even know what that means, but I've had some of that Arbor Mist stuff and it wasn't bad."

Not what Elsa meant. But she was smiling anyway, leaning back against her pillows. _'Then I have a few I would buy you if you wanted to try.'_

"Well, if we ever find ourselves in each other's company, that would be lovely," she said with a delighted chuckle. Then she paused and snorted, "Calm down, Maximo, I'm obviously gonna try your mojito, too."

Other users. She wanted to be rid of them… and she _could_ be. So she made the easy decision to spend a little more money and request more VIP time. Once the girl had prepared them a placeholder video, the screen changed…

And Roxanne looked much more _excited._ Real, not theatrical; Elsa could usually spot the difference, and even moreso now that she had watched this girl turn it on and off before. Performance.

"You came back."

'_Hello.'_

"Hi." She fidgeted, then smiled a little wider. "I, um… I feel just terrible about how bad I overreacted. But I'm glad you weren't too upset. I mean, I'm just some dumb hoe online, anyway."

'_You're not. You're a person, regardless of what you do or who you cam for.'_

"Well, yeah, but…" She squirmed, then sighed. "I feel like I'm letting you down. Like, you pay good money to go one-on-one and what, I act scared and don't even take my clothes off?"

'_I didn't ask you to take them off, remember? So it's not like I didn't get what I paid for.'_

"But…"

'_Everything is fine.'_

She had been about to protest further when she got the follow-up message, so she smiled in relief. Maybe this wasn't the world's worst disaster in the making.

_To Be Continued__…_


	6. Chapter 6

AUTHOR'S NOTE: HAPPY NEW YEAR (impending)! I might not get around to posting one tomorrow/later today because I'm doing a crazy thing with Dragonxborne, but I'll see you all again soon!

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

"Thanks," Roxanne told her, twirling some of her red hair around her index finger. "You're pretty cool, Mr. Big Shot Director."

"_Ahhh actually I never said I was behind the lens. You might even know my face.'_

"So mysteeerious," she cooed, playing it up a little - but still less than she would for the general public. "Just my luck, I meet Chris Hemsworth and he's an anonymous fan on my cam site."

'_Chris is married.'_ To someone with the same name as her, but she left that part out. _'Liam left Miley though.'_

"You just know that off the top of your head, huh? Either you work in the biz or you watch a lot of TMZ."

'_UGH no.'_ Roxanne laughed, so she added, _'Do you? No offense intended.'_

"No, no, I just… y'know, pick up stuff from tabloids at the supermarket checkout, or what I see in my feeds. Y'know." Then she cleared her throat. "So listen… I don't wanna seem pushy, but you _have_ paid more than once now. You're entitled to a little flesh. Are you sure that's not what you want?"

'_Sort of. Don't get me wrong, you're absolutely stunning.'_ As Roxanne bit her lip again, she kept typing, _'But I have my priorities in order. I like this a lot more.'_

Shrugging one shoulder, she cleared her throat and said with a sly smile, "Careful, or you'll fall for a stripper. Didn't that song teach you anything?"

Elsa snorted, adjusting her position before typing more. _'Oh yes. T-Pain is the wisest of sages. I always ask myself What Would T-Pain Do? before I make any big decisions in life.'_

Oh, it was so good to see her crush genuinely laugh. Clutch her stomach as she rocked back, cackling with unfettered mirth. Looking _happy._ She would give her eye teeth for that to be how she felt all the time.

"Oh God, you're a riot! Damn…" She chuckled a little more, wiping a tear from her eye. "Gonna screw up my makeup."

'_Like you need any.'_

"Ohhh, stoooop," she giggled, waving a hand. Definitely had more experience fending off compliments like those. "But thank you, that's sweet."

'_I'm serious. Those freckles are a gold mine in this industry so don't cover them up with foundation.'_

"Really? I mean- wait, which industry? Porn or like, your industry?" Then she snorted. "Unless you're in porn. That technically would be film."

'_Not the type of film I do sorry. But yes I meant my industry though it's probably the same in yours.'_

Roxanne chuckled a little more morosely as she gazed down at her forearms, where they were resting in her lap. "Like that's gonna matter. I'm kinda…" Then she snorted. "Listen to me, getting all moody when you're over there _paying_ for a good time."

'_What I want is what I'm getting. You. Say what you were thinking.'_

"Well… I'm…" She shrugged with an awkward smile. "Nobody wakes up one day and says 'I wanna be in porn', right? But it's also definitely not the worst job in the world; I could be a crack hoe in a bad part of town and wind up dead."

Elsa's fingers were rushed as she responded: _'Don't say that I don't wnat to think about you dying.'_

"Oh, sorry. You're right, that's pretty depressing; I'm… I'm fine, too. Like, don't worry!" She spread her arms wide in a "ta-daaah" gesture. "See? No broken bones or anything!"

'_Very nice. And it would be a shame for such a wonderful woman to suffer broken bones.'_

"Goooood, you," she snorted. "Maybe you really are Liam. Pretty smooth and confident over there."

'_Yes. Over here. If we were in the same room I wouldn't be able to talk to you.'_

Smiling sweetly, she leaned closer to the camera. "Shy guy? Maybe I could fix that. Everybody deserves somebody."

All she wanted was Roxanne. Not to figure out how to date another random person; she had tried it, and it didn't work. But that was as much about her lack of confidence as it was about the studio's ban on her sexuality.

'_Maybe. Or I should clarify.`_ The girl's expression turned curious while Elsa typed her next message. _'I would talk to you but you would never know I was interested. I would be civil and friendly. And that's it.'_

"Ohhh. So only _that_ kind of shy. Don't have much dating experience?" She was lying on her side by now. "That's really sad. And you seem like a catch, so what's the holdu-"

Roxanne cut off. Elsa had just sent a _'?'_ when she said toward her right, "Hey, he paid for the time. Who cares if he just wants to talk?" Something muffled she couldn't make out came from off camera. "Dude… chill. Seriously, if I can sit here and have a nice conversation and get paid, it's totally win-win. I like talking to him."

And she still couldn't make it out… but the next thing said sounded sharper, nastier. The girl's expression darkened, and she held up a finger to the camera - before muting the feed. Elsa could only see a snarled response before Roxanne was getting up from the bed, her leg just barely still in view.

So this certainly wasn't normal. Elsa found her hand pushing into her mouth as her eyes remained glued to the screen, trying to figure out what was going on. Clearly she had a production assistant - who? A boyfriend? Maybe another camgirl? They could be taking turns. Silly as it was, she leaned over as if she could see more that way…

Roxanne came back into view. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her face buried in her hands, clearly distraught. Something happened and she intended to find out what. In fact, that was what she typed: _'What's wrong?'_

She watched the girl sit up straighter, say something. Turn to the screen, leap, her mouth going wide. Then she slammed the keyboard - and an unholy cacophony sounded for a second.

"SORRY! God, I'm really sorry, I forgot you were there! Like… ugh, what's the matter with me?"

'_It's okay. But who was that and why did they make you cry?'_

_To Be Continued__…_


	7. Chapter 7

WARNING: Mildly NSFW. (And Happy New Year!)

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

"O-oh…" Blanching yet more, Roxanne rubbed the back of her neck. "You weren't, um, supposed to see any of that. My _friend_ helps me with modding and camera set up and stuff sometimes. We just had a disagreement."

'_About me? I can go.'_ Friend, huh? She was taken. Of course she was; a girl this gorgeous wouldn't be single for long unless it was by choice.

"Wait, wait, you…" She sighed. "He left. You're fine, it doesn't matter. But you might wanna find some other girl to watch, I doubt it's much fun to watch me cry."

Elsa bit her lip, considering her response. How could she cheer this poor girl up? Deciding to just go for it, she told her, _'I would watch you cry into a pint of Ben and Jerry's for hours. Don't worry about that.'_

"Right," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "Th-that's entertainment." They were both quiet for a moment. Elsa started to type something when the girl whispered, "I'm sorry. He normally doesn't… get jealous. But…"

'_But what?'_

"You and me were talking like friends. He could tell I wasn't hamming it up and trying to get you to empty your wallet like I normally do. But isn't that stupid?" she burst out with a huge shrug. "I mean, you already paid! Duh! So if you wanted to just hang out, why's it matter?"

That one was easy. _'Because he knows those guys you ham it up for aren't a threat to your relationship. I might be.'_

"Oh really?" she asked with a slight smile. "Gonna sweep me off my feet?"

'_I would love to.'_

'_But I meant that he must be insecure about it if he got this upset over nothing.'_

Though Roxanne had still been smiling at the first message, she deflated at the second. "Right. Overprotective boyfriend… it's a cliche for a reason, I guess." She squirmed, indecisive. "You know… it's not… real likely that I'm gonna date someone I met this way, don't you?"

Elsa could see the conflict in her shimmering teal eyes. She still wanted her money, but couldn't bring herself to lie to get it. Didn't lead her on. _'I know.'_

"Then why… are you being so nice? Like, it's literally my job to be a slutty tease."

'_I know that too. C'mon I wasn't born yesterday.'_

"Good, cuz this site has age restrictions." They both laughed, even if only one of them could hear the other. "Thanks, though. You sure you don't want to see? I mean, I've been told I have a perfect pussy. Perfect ass, too, if that's what you're into."

Trying not to overheat at just those things being mentioned, she typed, _'Do you mean ass or ass hole? Because I can clearly see you have the first one.'_

"Awww, thanks, Mountie," she laughed.

'_But I don't even know what the second one means. Aren't those all kind of the same?'_

"You would think so," she began conversationally. "Like, I've seen some pretty narsty ones in the business. Then there's ones you can tell have just literally been fucked a million times; like, I dunno how to describe it, but like, _wow_. And some girls bleach them and all that."

Making a face, she typed, _'So I've heard. No thank you.'_ Then she thought a moment before adding, _'On you OR me.'_

Grinning from ear to ear, she laughed, "I appreciate you looking out for my anal health, man." Elsa snorted. "But I could still show you my perfect ass if you want a demonstration? Like, just so you know what one looks like."

'_You're going to show me your ass… as an example? Like so I can compare all asses to yours in the future?'_

"Sure! I mean, I'll have to end VIP time after this; we're already _way_ past how long you paid for. But fuck it."

This was a difficult call. She wanted to end the session without badgering Roxanne into showing her anything… but she wasn't. This was an _offer,_ which was quite different. Besides, as she said, they had to end the session soon anyway. Maybe it was kinder to let this happen and enjoy the show.

'_You're on. But only if you feel comfortable.'_

Even before the girl responded, she knew she had said something stupid. Roxanne laughed and shook her head. "This is my job, remember? Who's uncomfortable?!"

And then she began to turn on the bed. Poor Elsa already felt her pulse skyrocketing upward as she saw those gorgeous, firm cheeks come into view. This had been a mistake. Why did she agree to this? Why didn't she just tell Roxanne it was fine and they could do it some other time? Or that she didn't want to?

Because she _did_ want to see more. She just didn't want to be sleazy; she wanted to _earn_ the chance to be with her. Silly since that was obviously not in the cards.

"Haaaappy New Yeeeeeeaaar," she cooed as she tugged one very specific area aside.

It _was_ perfect. Even though Elsa had mostly thought she was joking, she couldn't deny that tiny little pink asterisk did bring that very word to mind; she couldn't imagine another one more _perfect_ than this one. Whether or not she found that attractive was another matter, but she would have to decide that later.

"Hey - take a screenshot. Go on. Might as well for later, right?" Then she giggled. "What am I saying? You probably know this stuff."

'_You're sure?'_ Meanwhile, Elsa was trying to remember if she even knew HOW to take a screenshot on a laptop. Phones were easy.

"Yeah, man! My butt's all yours, you paid, like… go for it! Not like my face is even in the shot, anyway."

A fair point. Right then, she saw the "Prt Sc" key and remembered that was its purpose. Or so she hoped. She hit it and then typed, _'Got it. Thank you so much, even if I'm not sure how I feel about it.'_

"All good. And hey, next time, if you still want there to be one…" She teased a finger over her cloth-shrouded crotch - before sitting down and turning to grin at her. "Sorry. I'm not trying to upsell you, just get you more comfortable and stuff. You've been so cool today."

'_You're cool every day. I'll see you soon.'_

"Bye, Mountie!"

And then Elsa closed the browser, set her laptop aside… and went straight into the shower. For another thirty minutes.

_To Be Continued__…_


	8. Chapter 8

TW: Abuse mention.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

Things settled into a regular routine for a while. Without taping on her soap to worry about for a couple of weeks, Elsa would spend her days meeting up with her contacts, Edna chasing rainbows and trying to boost her career from small to big screen… and her nights paying to talk to Roxanne in ten-minute chunks. As isolated and alone as she felt, having the world's most adorable ginger dote on her meant the _world._

The more time and money she spent on her, the more she learned, as well. Roxanne could play the harmonica, the piano - with her _toes_ no less, though she could only manage chopsticks - and the guitar. The douchebag boyfriend's name was Hans, and she wasn't the only client he felt comfortable berating or commanding her in front of. She had a fluffy white kitten named Olaf who tried to interrupt her cam sessions, so they had to lock him in the bathroom but had forgotten once and he wandered into a very awkward shot.

Because finally, a little at a time, she had convinced Elsa to let her show more. Though she patently refused to watch Roxanne get herself off or go fully nude, she had seen her topless a few times. Bought her an ice blue thong off a special gift registry on an adult site - it didn't display the recipient's address to the customer, so safer for a camgirl to use - that she would tug _just right_ to turn it into floss. Plenty of things that got her so heated that she had to shower, and eventually started to debate really getting herself off. Because why not? Nobody else was lining up to do the job.

Except for the men her parents set her up with. Elsa finally flatly refused to go on any dates - and they _still_ set her up with some well-meaning guy. So she video chatted her parents, _during the date,_ to inform them that she refused any further matchmaking. Having to watch Ryder squirm awkwardly behind a furious daughter seemed to finally do the trick.

Everything was almost good, except that Roxanne wasn't really _real._ She was a cam girl; even if she was less fake around her than the other clients, she still was far from a real relationship. Even friendship. But Elsa convinced herself that this was as close to one as she felt comfortable having since everyone in Hollywood was so fake.

There was one other thing she learned. And she decided to find out for sure if she was right the most blunt way possible.

~ o ~

"Aren't you getting sick of me?"

'_Never.'_ The answers came so easy with Elsa. She almost forgot she wasn't talking to an old friend; she just had to get that pesky VIP payment out of the way first, and then she was talking to her red-haired angel. No worse than placing a toll call.

"Okay," Roxanne breathed as she cuddled the big pink moose she had bought her more recently. Yes, a pink moose; it was the weirdest thing on her gift registry so she decided she _had_ to do that one. "I'm so boring, though. Like, especially because you won't let me get nastier for you, but besides that… I'm sleepy today. So I can't even give you the usual perkiness that brings the boys to the yard."

'_It's okay. I like just hanging out.'_ She saw her smile, and gave it a few seconds before typing again. Moment of truth now. _'Anna?'_

"Yeah?"

'_Thanks for being here. And yes I know you're paid to but it doesn't matter. I still really look forward to our time together.'_

"Sure, Mountie," she said with a smile as she started to yawn. And the yawn died halfway through as her eyes went wide. "Beh?"

'_You okay?'_

The girl paused for a moment, leaning her hands against her ankles. Staring off to the side. Then she said softly, "You said you weren't a creep. I thought you weren't, but… have you… been digging up dirt…?"

Looking away from the feed for a moment to lessen her pain, she finally mustered the courage to type, _'You forgot to mute it last time he came at you. I heard everything. I just didn't know what to say so I didn't.'_

"You heard my name? And… heard…" Pain crept into her features. "Oh GOD. Last time you were on, I… that was the one- shit. Shit, _shit,_ I'm… so sorry."

'_Did you go to the hospital?'_

"No. It wasn't that bad, he… I know it probably sounded really bad through the mic, but I swear up and down, like, it was barely anything." But she was _shaking._ Whether at the memory of the abuse or at her identity being less protected than before was anybody's guess.

'_He deserves to be the one in the hospital.'_

"Hey. Listen, that's none of your business. But like…" She sighed wearily, frowning straight down. "I know you're trying to help. So thanks, but just like, forget about it. Okay? My life, I'll handle it."

'_I'm not trying to white knight you Anna. I just don't want him to hurt you again.'  
_'_If he comes at you again I want you to get to a shelter.'_

Lip trembling, Roxanne - or Anna, as she now knew - blew upward to push her bangs out of her eyes. Trying to distract both of them. "He just… gets mad sometimes. I frustrate him." A harsh chuckle. "I know how I sound. But I don't have a way out, and when he's not like that, he's… sweet. Takes care of me. Like, without his job, I wouldn't make it. Even with you being so cool and… basically feeding me in exchange for listening to me talk about nothing but bullshit."

Elsa's throat constricted as she typed. It took her so long that Anna actually said, "Mountie? You there?" before she was finished.

'_Don't put yourself down like that. You have more to say than ninety per cent of the people in my life and I'm not kidding. I will hit the tip jar a hundred times if it will get you out of there and somewhere safer.'  
_'_You're worth two of me, and ten of Hans. You are so worth it.'_

_To Be Continued__…_


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

The poor, distressed camgirl read and reread the message from her benefactor. Her eyes welled up, face crumpled. And finally, she managed a response. "But… no, you're not getting this. Hans is fine; we're fine, it's just hard sometimes. That's all. I'm not gonna die or whatever, so…" Then she tried for a smile. "Stop worrying and start partying with me again. Okay? Like, you bought me this moose; you wanna see me ride him? Naked?"

'_Anna it's okay. I really didn't mean to upset you I just don't want to find out someday that you're ijosfk'_

"Mountie?" But Elsa was too busy crying and clutching her legs to follow up on her partial message. "H-hey, are you okay? Don't… don't go quiet like that. You paid for this time, remember?" A weak laugh, but when Elsa was still too busy grabbing some tissues she pressed more urgently, "Don't do anything crazy, okay? P-please, I'm so not worth it, I'm fucking trash - like, you're in movies and everything! Who cares if one camgirl gets smacked around once in a while? Don't hurt yourself or anything just because I'm in a weird place in my life! Which I will totally get out of, and be fine! Okay? Please, don't…" A whimpering sob. "Mountie, don't do this…"

'_I'm so sorry I was just crying'  
_'_I'm fine. I'm really sorry Anna I didn't mean to worry you I'm so sorry'_

Anna breathed a huge sigh of relief, which helped Elsa do the same. Her fingers scrubbed at her eyes as she heard a weak laugh. "Crying over me? Like… I really don't get you."

'_Join the club. I haven't got me since I was a little girl.'_

"Oh wow, hilarious, _Miss_ Mountie," she laughed - and only then did Elsa realise her mistake. Seemed Anna wasn't the only one who could lapse in her diligence. Worse still, there was no such thing as deleting messages on that website. And of course, it didn't take long for Anna to realise it wasn't a joke. "Wait… I shouldn't- are you? A girl?"

No response. Elsa was hyperventilating, gripping her mouth as if somehow speaking aloud would make a difference in a text-only chat. Anna leaned closer to the camera - just as silly, trying to see an invisible person better.

"You are. Oh… I get it, I'm- I _knew_ you were too nice for a guy. Wow… I… didn't know… I even had female viewers. Like, I'm shook over here."

'_I have to go.'_

"WAIT!" she yelped, desperate. "L-listen, I didn't mean- I handled this pretty shitty, I'm- you're fine!"

'_Everything's fine. I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight Anna'_

"Mountie, I'm sor-"

But she had already closed the tab. The last thing she wanted was to hear Anna _apologising_ when she had done literally nothing wrong. Not when Elsa was the one who ruined everything she touched.

~ o ~

To be fair, Elsa really did plan on logging on again the following evening. Explaining herself fully; nothing held back anymore. She wasn't the kind of person who left unfinished business lingering around.

As it turned out, she didn't quite get the chance. Because she got _another_ email.

'_NorthMountainMan,_

'_I'm sorry if I came off as super homophobic. Or anything like that. I swear I'm not, I just honestly thought only guys would be interested in me. Maybe that's still homophobic somehow… am I not woke? And this isn't even me saying you're a lesbian or bi or anything. Maybe you just like buying pink stuffed animals for people? But if I offended you I can promise you so hard that I did not mean to and I am sorrier than a Canadian roller derby queen. _

'_And if you don't mind talking to me about this a little more you can check after the message. Again I'm really sorry._

'_XOXO, Roxanne_

'_Attachment:'_

What was attached? A picture. Of a phone number, written in blue ink on a soft palm. _Anna's_ palm.

Her brows drew together and she stared at that image for a long time - so long that she was still doing it when Honey Martin came back from the changing room. "I think this doesn't show enough leg," she sighed with a frown. "We're known persons, we have to be flashier. Don't we?" Elsa gave no response, so she tapped her on the shoulder. "Hello?"

"What? Oh, sorry - let me see." She glanced down along the forest-patterned dress. "Ohhh, I like that. I don't think it's too modest; the nature motif lends itself to that. Or else it would have to be a _lot more_ revealing."

She considered for a moment, then began to nod. "Okay, okay, I see you. But yeah, I love anything nature-y. I'll take it." As she shut the door behind her again, she called out, "By the way, where were you just now?"

"Hm? Standing right here with you."

"No, before that. Your mind was in another universe."

Grimacing, she called back, "Sorry. I was… just lost in thought."

"Obviously. Do you not want to talk about it?"

"No. Well… it's more that… I would be really embarrassed to talk about it, because it's… stupid. I'm sorry."

When her co-star emerged, back in her own light blue a-line and navy blazer, she frowned and stepped closer. "Alright, listen. I know we aren't very close. I'm an extra in your life."

"That isn't-"

"No, no, I get it. The business we're in. But if you want someone to listen, I promise I won't judge. You _already know_ you can trust me. Remember?"

As Elsa self-consciously tugged at the hem of her skirt, she had to concede Honey had a point; they had been through a lot over the past couple of years on set. And she was desperate. "Well… alright. But only if you can also promise not to reveal anything I'm about to tell you. Not that I think you would, but this is going to be… different from last time."

"I'm okay with different," the tanned woman chuckled. "Come on, take me up on it. What have you got to lose?"

So she took her up on it.

_To Be Continued__…_


	10. Chapter 10

NOTE: Sorry about missing yesterday, I was out almost the entire day! Posting early to help make up for it!

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

There in the food court of that high-end mall, both of them wearing sunglasses and large hats to obscure their identities, Elsa delicately hedged around the truth - said that she had met someone online and that they got along well, but this other _person_ was in a relationship. Also, that she didn't know she was famous. So she didn't want to reveal her identity, but the prospect of speaking with her one-on-one… it was too good to pass up.

"This is some _hot goss,"_ Honey whispered back, picking over her floppy mall-pizza. Both stars ordered the same, even if they also both knew they would barely get halfway through the single slice; they were enormous, and their trim supermodel figures weren't easy to maintain. "So you're really not sure you're going for it?"

"I'm… sure I _want_ to. But I'm afraid of the tabloid nightmare." Clutching her elbows, she stared down at the remainder of her slice. "And… a little afraid s- _this person_ will turn out to be someone I can't trust. Not much, I _want_ to trust and I'm mostly sure I can, but I can't dismiss the fear."

A shrewd smirk pulled at Honey's lips. "Mm. Plus there's the coming out nightmare."

"I… I'm sorry, what? I told y-"

"Come on, girl," she chuckled as she picked up her water. "You don't think I've watched every single Matthias-kiss? You hate it. You viscerally _hate_ kissing that smoldering hunk of black GOD, and there's only two reasons you might - and I was pretty sure you aren't racist."

"Hey! No, I most certainly am _not_ racist!" Then she sighed and closed her eyes, trying to ignore Honey's giggling. "Okay, I get it; you're right, that would be the only other reason. Brixton's a catch."

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Honey was smirking as she shrugged a little. "Come on, it's Hollywood. Everybody's a little gay. I've made out with a girl before; I just prefer men. So even if our studio is full of prudes, I certainly won't judge. You _know_ I won't already. So… bi?" Elsa remained silent. "Full lez?"

"Honey… I…"

"It's okay," she assured her with a raised hand. "This doesn't change who you are. So this is a girl you know online? And… she has no idea you're not a guy?"

"Actually, she figured out I'm- hey, I never said anything _like_ that it's a woman. You shouldn't be allowed to read my mind."

"Easy guess. You wouldn't be this freaked out otherwise. Just go for it! Worse comes to worst, you can tattle on the execs; that they forced you to stay in the closet. You'd get all kinds of pride committees and Ellen and everybody backing you up."

Whimpering, she leaned heavily on one elbow. "Ellen will be so disappointed that I didn't come out to her… she's always so supportive." Then she peered up at Honey. "You really think I should call her?"

"At least _text_ her. You are not doing yourself any favours if you just spin your wheels here; I've always thought you looked miserable between takes."

That one hit Elsa in the stomach with the force of a gut punch. Did she really look that despondent? And there she thought she had projected an air of professionalism; distancing herself from her fellow actors. Ridiculous.

"Hey." When she looked up, Honey was raising an eyebrow at her with a patient smile. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"For… pushing, I guess. I know this is big."

But Elsa was already shaking her head. "You're fine. And… you're right." Nodding determinedly as if she were on set instead of sitting in front of a wedge of greasy dough, she said, "I'll call."

"Fantastic. Now, I think we both deserve some shoe therapy. Come on - my treat."

~ o ~

"Hello?"

Elsa's throat closed up as she started pacing back and forth in her dressing room. Yes, the set was closed until Monday, but she somehow couldn't do this in her apartment; she wasn't even sure why. Anna could probably even hear the clicking of a brand new pair of silver heels in the background; Honey had insisted.

But she didn't reply fast enough, so Anna said, "Um… listen, sorry about your job and all, but I don't have any problems with my PC or iCloud account, so-"

"Wait, wait," Elsa hastily blurted. "I… don't care about your iCloud account, I'm not a telemarketer."

"Oh? Well, I'm a registered Democrat…" But now the girl's sweet voice sounded less resigned. More curious.

"That's reassuring," she laughed nervously.

And there was silence for a few more seconds. Then she finally whispered, "Mountie?"

The corners of her mouth curled into a hesitant smile. "Hello, Anna."

"Oh my God." There was the sound of something shifting over the line; was she at home? In a car? Doing handstands at the top of the Eiffel Tower?! "You really are… _wow."_

"M-maybe this was a mistake."

"NO! Wait, don't go, I… I'm sorry, I'm just still Surprised Pikachu over here."

"You're _what?!"_

At least Anna was as nervous as she was now that she knew it wasn't a solicitor. "N-nothing. My brain is like, short-circuiting that you aren't some fedora-wearing Nice Guy."

Chuckling softly, she leaned against the wall and cradled her phone with both hands. For _some_ reason. "I've been told my voice is a little… raspy sometimes?"

"Your voice is sexy as _fuck._ Like, you could do phone sex work." Then she laughed. "The hell am I saying? You're like, a movie star or something! You don't need my pro tips."

"I don't mind. So…" Might as well get the hard part over with. "Sorry for deceiving you."

"What, the 'I'm not a guy' thing? PFFFF. It's the internet, like… when you bounced, I was trying to say I don't mind and I totally get why you'd pretend to be a dude. But I wasn't making a lot of sense; tossing the ol' word salad."

"You were fine," Elsa giggled as she sank down into her chair. "But I'm also sorry I ran. It just shocked me that I… let it slip that way. A secondary identity for a porn site is a brand new dirty little secret for me."

"_Who has to know?!"_ Anna sang automatically. Elsa laughed; she wasn't a big All-American Rejects fan, but she recognised the tune. "It's no big, though; it's not even that you're the first girl to flirt with me, just… the _only_ one online."

Brows shooting up, she asked, "Really? You're… am I hearing that you-"

"Oh SHIT!" Reeling at the cursing, Elsa almost didn't hear her continue, "I gotta get to my next class! But like, call you back later? Promise promise, I'm gonna save this number so hard!"

_What?!_

"Sure," Elsa said in a numb voice. "Enjoy _class_." And the line went dead.

_To Be Continued… _


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Except that gave Elsa the entire drive home to dwell. _Next class._ It probably meant that Anna was in college, but what if she wasn't? What if she was a senior in _high school?_ Technically, she could still cam if she was over eighteen, but it would definitely be a lot more awkward between them. Sure, Elsa was only twenty-three herself, but she mentally considered anyone who didn't at least have that diploma a child.

"_Cradle-robber,"_ she accused herself as she guided her car into her building's garage. "Disgusting. Just… you knew she looked young, why didn't that raise red flags? Are you really going to keep talking to this _teenager?!"_

She barely touched her dinner, and wound up hovering behind Gerda while she cleaned until the frustrated housekeeper got sick of it and shooed her off. By the time her phone rang again, she was merely wringing her hands and staring through her TV while something trivial played. Truth be told, she didn't even know what it was.

"H-hello?"

"_Mountie!"_ she burst out excitedly. "Heeey! I was kinda scared you wouldn't pick up, I was such a dink last time!"

"Dink?" Elsa laughed, getting up from her expensive taupe couch to pace. Again.

"You know, nerd? Loser? Fleekless wonder?"

"Do people really talk like that?"

Now it was Anna's turn to laugh shyly. There was a loud _clop-clop_ in the background; Elsa had the strong impression she had kicked off her shoes. "Probably not. I really am a dink."

"Don't be silly. How was… class?"

"Huh? Oh, it was fine. I don't even like this one but I need the credit hours or I'm never getting outta there."

_Credit hours. University._ Elsa couldn't disguise her sigh of relief.

"You okay?"

"What? No, no - I'm fine. Sorry."

"You thought I was in high school, didn't you?"

Blanching at that knowing tone, she protested, "N-no, I didn't!" When Anna didn't respond, she sighed again and dropped into the armchair this time. "I just wasn't _sure._"

"I can't blame you," she giggled. "Like… okay, a behind-the-curtain reveal? There was a group text."

"Group text?"

"Of the girls on LenzLaydeez. Not everybody was on it or interested or whatever, but we needed it sometimes. To vent? And like, about half those girls actually _are_ in high school. Couple of them were even under eighteen and lying about their age, but like, you didn't hear that from me; they still needed the money."

"My lips are sealed." Even if she didn't feel quite right about that, she also didn't know which girls were which, so it was largely irrelevant. "So, um… what is it you want to do? When you're through with college."

"Not really sure. Kinda thinking about opening a sub shop, but like, most restaurants crash and burn. Then sometimes I think I'd like to go legit and do Twitch streams; I actually started out that way but I realised I could make a lot more camming."

"Twitch?"

"Yeah, y'know, gaming?" Silence. "Of… the video kind?"

"OH! Sorry, I don't really know anything about that."

"_WHAT?!"_ she burst out in shock. "Omigod, who even _are_ you? Wait - you don't have to answer, i-it was a joke. I'm not trying to make you tell me who you are, I know that's… well, I'm pretty sure you're somebody I would know, which means I _shouldn't_ know, because you'll-"

"It's okay," she laughed softly to spare her from having to babble. "And it would depend on what you watch. Anyway, I, um… my parents didn't approve of video games so I haven't ever tried them."

"NEVER?! Are you serious? Okay, um…" Anna squirmed for a minute. "So this is gonna sound super nosy, but you've got money, right? You waste so much on me."

"I do. And I don't think of it as a waste."

Anna fell quiet for a moment. Then she whispered, "Mountie, you cinnamon roll. Anyway - I want you to take that platinum card to Amazon. We're gonna get you set up."

"Set up?"

~ o ~

Elsa Norberg, model and soap star, spent the next hour being walked through purchasing something called a Nintendo 3DS. She didn't know a single thing, so Anna had to lead the poor babe in the woods through every step. Within a couple of days, she would have the system itself and a Pokemon game - at least _that,_ she had heard of, even if she didn't know what it was.

When she started offering to buy Anna the same, she reassured her she already had them. And that she didn't want more of her money. She wasn't remorseful about the past purchases, but also didn't try to weasel more out of her; it was an odd balance that Elsa could respect, and went a long way toward quelling her fears that Anna would abuse their friendship. They were practically strangers but she already felt she could trust her.

Once the system showed up on her doorstep - it was so much _smaller_ than she had been expecting, since she was envisioning one of the TV-connected consoles she had coveted as a child - she called Anna again. They had spoken every day between and were starting to get more comfortable around each other. The camgirl temporarily switched jobs to game coach and got her to stop accidentally shutting the system off and flipping between the main menu and the game, until finally she was really playing. Even if she was confused often.

And it was _nice._ For a while now, her parents had been insisting she get a hobby. They probably didn't have video games in mind, since they thought they were brain-rotting or something equally narrow-minded, but it was still better than being all work and no play. But more than that…

_Anna._

"You have to stop doing that," Anna laughed shyly.

"Doing what?"

"Complimenting me every few seconds. It's really sweet, but you're going to like, get me all bubbly."

Elsa smiled a little as she paused the game. She knew how to do that now. "Mmm, what if I _want_ you all bubbly?"

There was a little sigh over the line. "God that voice… okay, I gotta go. The apartment's a wreck and you know how Hans gets."

Again, Elsa was very careful to disguise her displeasure. "I know. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Probably," she laughed. "Byeeeee, Trainer!"

"Night."

And once she hung up, the actor almost obsessively dove into the game. Anything to take her mind off what could happen once the aforementioned boyfriend came home.

_To Be Continued… _


	12. Chapter 12

NOTE: Oh my God, thanks so much to all of you for reading along and all your reviews! I'm glad you're into this story! This chapter sets up the next "arc" so to speak.

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

Everything settled a bit more once production resumed on _Into The Unknown._ Elsa was so busy that she didn't find time to dwell often on Anna's home situation, and Anna clearly wasn't dying or in the hospital. The game helped, even though she didn't really think she was getting any better at it; at least it served as a regular distraction.

"So," Honey commented when she caught her Pokemonning in the dressing room, "this is new."

"I-it's nothing," she told her as she shut the clamshell lid and tried to slide the device under her purse - but Honey snatched it. "Hey, careful!"

"Well if it's _nothing,_ how careful do I have to be with nothing?" She started turning it over in her hands. "This is one of those Nintendo things, right? My little sister has one."

Standing, she held a hand out in front of her. "Would you mind returning my property, please?"

But Honey was too busy fixing her with a knowing smirk. "So… for the sake of argument, how old is this _snack_ you're talking to online?"

No answer. Just a blush that was actually visible through the heavy set makeup.

"That young?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "Alright. None of my business. But, um… aren't you taking this a little far? You're mimicking her interests and all. Most people would say that's serious."

"It's only a game," she grunted, snatching it out of her hands and shoving it in her thousand-dollar designer purse. "And she's only a friend… she has a boyfriend, and _college classes._"

Her co-star saw through the pointed insistence that Anna was of age, but didn't remark on it; just nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay. For the record, though, I wasn't trying to judge, I'm just… well, you said it yourself; you're worried about how the public would react if word got out. And it would be worse if she was a kid."

"Well, she's not." Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know what I'm doing… I like her, I really do. But she's not available and neither am I. But I should be able to just have a friend, right?"

"You should, yes. Is that what you want from this girl?"

Elsa's brow furrowed. "No. But it's what I can have."

"Norberg, come on." She shrugged and let that drop for now. "Okay, so I was just going to ask you to ask you, but now you need cheering up so it's even more important. I'm going on a spa trip this weekend with Kristoff. Tag along, get your mind off the daily stress. And you can still call your little side piece, so it's not an intervention or anything."

"Oh… I don't know, I was supposed to meet up with my parents for lunch on Sat… urd… you know what? Let's do it. They're just going to micromanage my entire life as usual."

Honey laughed and clapped excitedly. "That's the spirit! Come on, let's go find matching robes!"

"What? I mean, don't they provide those?!" But she was already being dragged off to costuming.

~ o ~

However, it was only Tuesday. Elsa privately wished she didn't have multiple days to fret over doing something this impulsive, but it was what it was. She ended up confessing to Anna the following night that she was thinking of telling her friend she was feeling under the weather.

"Whaaaat, why?" she laughed on the other end of the line. "Sounds like she wants some girl time; like, she's taking her boyfriend and still doesn't mind you coming, right?"

"But we aren't very close." Still picking at the dregs of her Lean Cuisine, she said, "I know you have to cam soon, I'm sorry… ignore me."

"Nnnnope. And maybe she wants to _get_ closer; actually be biffers instead of just some hoe you know."

"Maybe. She does keep taking me shopping and things… I don't know, I'm so bad at everything."

Anna laughed and made a grunting noise; Elsa was reasonably sure she had flopped onto her bed again. "So, uh, where's this fancy pants place you're going again?"

"Oh, something… Hermosa? I don't even know what it means." Her mind flashed back to the adorable mechanic, so she hurried to say, "It's way out in Santa Barbara, which Honey _insists_ will mean we won't see paparazzi, but I have a feeling we will, anyway."

"Huh… okay, cool, cool." Then she cleared her throat. "W-well, I mean _not_ cool if they show up, but I was saying 'cool' about the whole trip. And we both know you gotta loosen up, man; let your hair down and whatever. We've been talking about that."

"Right. And talking about you needing to do the opposite. How are your classes going?"

"Oh… they're going," she hedged. When Elsa only grunted, she relented, "I'm a little behind in the calc, but like I said, I don't think I'm gonna use it much when I'm slinging hoagies or whatever, right? So who cares?"

"We both will care when you have to take more classes for more credit hours, and you fall behind."

"Yes, _motherrrrr,"_ she drawled out. When Elsa sighed, she followed up, "Sorry. I know you're just having my back and all. But I got this, okay? Promise."

"Thank you. Because I know you're good at camming, but we both agree that's not your permanent career. You are destined for something greater; I can feel it."

"Yeah, maybe." There was a long pause as Elsa stood up to dump the rest of her food. "Hey… Mountie?"

"Yes?"

Anna swallowed hard. "Listen. We got this batshit thing where I'm friends with a celebrity but I don't know which one. And I'm not digging dirt, but I can't help thinking, like… if I _did_ find out, by accident or on purpose… would you be mad? Upset? It's… I guess I wanna know if…"

Maybe Elsa wasn't great at interpersonal relations, but she could figure this one out. "You want to know if my anonymity is more important to me than… you."

"What?! N-nawww, that's dumb, we're just-"

"It isn't."

"Oh." There was a small pause. Elsa might have been wrong, but she was reasonably sure the girl was smiling when she said, "Sorry, I just was… curious and shit."

"No problem," she chuckled softly. "And… I probably will tell you someday. It's just a delicate situation."

"Oh, no big deal… just you've seen a _lot_ more of me than I have of you, dude."

Snorting, she leaned against the kitchen counter. "Not my fault, Anna. Seriously, you were like a used car salesman trying to upsell me your butthole."

"SHEEZE, will you _let it go?!"_

_T__o Be Continued__…_


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Comadreja La Hermosa was a gorgeous resort. Though Elsa had fretted about the trip all the way up the coast, seeing the glittering water and the swaying palms in front of the eye-pleasing compound almost instantly set her at ease. She even undid her taut bun and let the platinum waves fall down around her shoulders, haphazardly braiding it as they waited for the bellhops to grab their luggage.

"Aww, you _almost_ actually let your hair down," Honey teased her as Kristoff set the last of the bags on the kerb. He was the one that deserved to be called a Mountain Man; a foot taller than his girlfriend, very broad-shouldered. Kind eyes, though. "So close, and yet…"

Elsa pushed her sunglasses down so her friend would see her glaring. "Shush. I came here against my better judgment; please don't make me regret it."

"Hey, I'm already thrilled," Kristoff chuckled as he flexed his enormous biceps to alleviate the strain. "Two beautiful women and an entire weekend? My kinda getaway."

"Mm, yes. What was it you do again?"

"I, uh… transport commodities between destinations."

"Delivery boy. Got it."

Honey elbowed her and said, "He handles fulfilling the riders for touring bands at most of the major venues around L.A., actually. So be nice, okay?"

"I'm always nice," she protested with a pout. But she told the chuckling man, "Sorry if I offended you."

"Nah, not at all. I'm pretty laid-back. Shall we?"

The lobby looked more like a sitting room in a high-end boutique. There was no TV playing sports, just a water feature gently burbling. Honey got them checked into their adjoining rooms and they followed their bags. Words couldn't do the view justice; the Pacific sparkled out in front of them in the midday sun, and pristine beaches stretched in either direction. A covered walkway led from the back deck and restaurant area, through tropical trees and brush, directly down to the sand. Perfect.

"Can you believe this?" Honey asked through the connecting doors. They both had one, so Elsa had to skip over and unlock hers to let her in. "Hey! And wow, yours has a nautical theme… look at ours! It's like they _made_ it just for me!"

Honey and Kristoff had some kind of jungle thing going on. Of course, both rooms were quite tasteful and calming; it was mostly subtle differences in decor. "I think yours is lovely. Now, I'm going to unpack, and then… dare we brunch?"

While Elsa's smile was small and tentative, Honey was grinning from ear to ear. "You know it, girl."

Over the course of brunch, Elsa got to know her costar-turned-friend's boy toy. They hadn't been going out long, just a few weeks. She was a year older than him but neither of them minded. He had dreams of being a rock star but was reasonably grounded, just playing a few nights in coffee houses and focusing on his steady job. And he apologised for his earlier crack about having two women to himself.

"Listen, I didn't know…" He glanced around as they headed toward the spa section, then whispered, "Honey told me why you kinda acted like I was scum when I said that. And I get it."

"Oh, you do?" she said through her teeth, burning holes in her friend with her glare. Honey was innocently interested in a painting they were passing.

"Y-yeah. Like, if I knew that going in, I wouldn't make jokes like that; I'm woke."

"You have never sounded more white," Honey snorted. "But I love you, anyway."

As they were sharing a disgustingly sappy kiss, Elsa looked over the treatments they offered. Peels, seaweed wraps, bubbling mud baths, that thing with the fish nibbling your foot-skin… and something called "Beautiful Brutality" that made her want to do anything _but_ look into it further. But there was a "Serenity Plus Package" that sounded like exactly what they all were after.

"Isn't… this… amazing?" Honey managed to groan while her shoulders were being kneaded thoroughly.

"Nnhhh, ye-e-a-ah," Elsa answered while a burly man chopped all over her back. Even if she winced at his pleasant smiles in her direction, other than that he was completely professional so she didn't mind the male masseuse. "Fa-a-anta-a-st-i-i-i-c!"

"Mmm, and maybe… you can meet somebody nice down on the… on the beach, ohhh GOD that knot!"

After that, Elsa merely chuckled into her arms instead of trying to conversate further. The idea had been to relax, after all.

Only once they were soaking in a tub of mud together did she whisper, "I'm not sure I want to meet someone else."

Honey glanced around, then slid closer. It wasn't easy with all that warm grey sludge surrounding them. "But we agreed that your little net-friend is involved. Don't you owe it to yourself to find someone unattached?"

"But no one else makes me…" She gave a happy sigh, lips pulling into a wistful smile.

"Oh yeah, I know _that_ feel." She patted Elsa's arm - amazing enough she could find it - and went on, "Fine, fine. It's not hurting anything that you daydream about her a little. Just don't put on blinders and _miss_ somebody who might be right in front of you."

And she took that to heart. Did she expect to find someone like that? No. But nothing was impossible.

Once they had rinsed off, they had a nice early dinner in the resort restaurant, then headed toward the beach. It would be dark, but it was well lit close to the hotel walkway. They were heading through the lobby when she overheard an argument.

"Miss, you cannot loiter any longer. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

"But that's bullshit!" cried a voice… that was chillingly familiar. The hair on Elsa's neck stood up, and that reaction seemed to race all the way down the rest of her spinal column. "I told you, I'm just here to see a friend real quick and then I'm gone - I don't have a thousand dollars for a freakin' room!"

Sneering slightly, the concierge said, "This 'friend' whom you cannot name? Do you really expect me to let you wait here when you don't even know who you're trying to see?"

"What?" Honey whispered once she and Kristoff had noticed Elsa stopped in her tracks. "You okay?"

The answer was most definitely "no".

_T__o Be Continued__…_


	14. Chapter 14

RESPONSES:

**Mimico Florido:** Okay okay, so there's an actual resort hotel in Santa Barbara that's very pricey. But as with most fiction, it's easier to just invent a fictional version. My idea was that Weselton owns it but wanted it to sound local and exotic, haha.

**ellie:** To be frank, writing is hard work and I've been updating this fic daily as it is. So I'm glad you're enjoying the fic and you likely meant well, but please don't leave comments like these; they often discourage writers by making them feel like their efforts aren't good enough.

* * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Go on without me."

"What?" Kristoff piped up. "Why, did you forget something?"

"Yes!" she seized on, actually pointing at him. "I forgot something, but I… do not want you to come with me. To get it. The something."

Honey was smirking, though as it turned out, not because she had sussed the situation. "Have to make a _phone call,_ hm? Fine. We'll save you a spot on the sand." Then she was tugging Kristoff away before he could protest any further, though he still shot a couple of looks over his shoulder.

And now Elsa… had to think fast. This was a _disaster._ She wasn't ready to come out! But she couldn't let her internet acquaintance come all this way for nothing, either! Maybe she was wrong; maybe the voice was just strikingly similar to the one she adored. But the body poking down and out from under the brim of that beanie was also a match. And when the girl turned away from the desk, frustrated with the man and preparing to stomp out the front door-

_Anna._

Seconds left now. As an actor, she had taken extensive improv courses; even if she was still an awkward bean, sometimes that skillset came in handy. As it would now.

"You are alright, _ja?" _

"Huh?" Anna asked, looking up at her with teary eyes. She hesitated a moment when she got a really good look at Elsa… distracted by her obvious beauty. Was the jig up already? Then shook her head hard, red braids bouncing to and fro.

"O-oh… n-nah, I'm just… dumb. Thanks." And she prepared to brush past, but Elsa jogged to the side to block her path.

"I vill say you are not dumb." It had been a while since she dusted off her Swedish accent - not since the evil twin episode - but Anna didn't seem to notice. "But you are upset. Vill you join me… for a drink?"

"Don't have any money." Her lip wobbled before she did a decent imitation of a polite smile. "Stupid, right? What am I doing here, _why_ did I drive all this way… nah. Doesn't matter."

"No, no, I pay. Come to here." She gestured to the bar at the far end of the lobby's lounge, with its neon lights and vest-wearing mixologist.

Anna frowned, squirmed uncertainly… then sighed and followed her. They got seated and she ordered a beer, asking for "something on tap", and Elsa asked for a Heineken - leaning into her role. Since ordering her an Arbor Mist would have given her away. Then she laid a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"This is important to you, _ja?_ It is not stupid. Please, I have an ear to listen."

"No, it's…" She drummed her fingers on the bartop as she slouched down. "She's so… I drove here because I knew a friend was going to be here. But like, I've never met her in person; I don't even know her _name._ And she didn't know I was coming, so like, I'm kind of a gross stalker - which is really dumb, since I accused her of being one before. How the turn tables, as Michael Scott would say."

"Hmm. Vell… I do not know dis Michael," she replied, making Anna snort in distant amusement. "But I am sure… your friend will not be angry." And she wasn't. Distressed, yes, and panicking, but not at all angry. Quite the opposite; she was touched.

"It doesn't matter!" she burst out as her head _thonked_ against the bar. "I can't wait here! Like, I'm not a paying customer! I'm still not, so as soon as you head to your room they're gonna call the cops, I'm pretty sure."

"They vill not. You vill come to the beach vith me, and… ve vill figure out what to do."

"No…" She sat back up and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as she came to a decision. "No. This is my fault. Like, I did the dumb thing, I gotta go home and face that I just burned a bunch of gas because I'm way too impulsive. Why didn't I just… ask her? Text her? Noooo, I _had_ to do the big 'surprise! It's that weirdo from the internet!' thing instead!"

By the end of it, Elsa was smiling down at her. _Perfect._ This girl was actually even better than her halfassed fantasies had told her she was.

"Nej, you vill not do dat. Come to the beach, please?"

"I don't… I mean, I _do_ want to come, but I don't _deserve_ it." Now the tears came for real; she had managed to hold them back until then. "I j-just want to see her and tell her I'm sorry. But I can't. S-so I gotta go drive off a pier or something now."

"Drive off later. Beach. Now."

Taking a big swig of her beer, she shrugged. "Alright. At least it gets me out of that jerkface's thinning hair for a little while." With a nod toward the front desk, she got up from her stool. "Thanks, um…"

Why not? "Elsa. And you?"

"I'm Anna, Anna Granger." She held out her free hand formally, then blinked and laughed. "Ugh… too many interviews with professors and shit. Sorry to get all formal."

"It is fine," she chuckled, taking it and shaking anyway. "I am happy to meet you. Let us walk."

They walked. Once out on the deck, Elsa appreciated something she hadn't quite been able to put her finger on before; Anna in _clothes._ She had seen all kinds of slutty outfits on her, but never this jeans-and-tee combo with ratty old Converse. Too cute. The setting sun just barely caught in her aquamarine eyes, and the shadows flickering in and out of her coppery hair as they passed the electric tiki torches were like spirits at play. Every freckle was one she wanted to kiss…

Yeah. She had it bad.

"Thanks for hanging out," Anna whispered with a weak smile. "I'm… really Cusacking it."

"Hm? Cusacking?"

"Y'know… from _Say Anything?"_ Elsa was starting to catch on, but still listened. "He makes the big dumb gesture, and it's not quite enough but everything turns out okay? Feels like one of those deals."

Elsa shrugged. "Perhaps it is, _ja._ Tell me about this woman you do not know, but you know."

"Oh… she's amazing. An actor who works really hard, like, I can tell it's killing her but she _loves_ it. I know she's tall, and she's thin… hot yoga? Dumb stuff I probably shouldn't remember. She likes her coffee with peppermint, sweet potato fries. Oh - and she probably has a 3DS in her purse. Unless she decided not to bring it on vacation…"

As they got to the beach, Elsa made a mental note to keep her purse closed. She also suddenly realised there was a very large obstacle to keeping this whole thing incognito. Two of them, in fact… and they were already waving her down so animatedly that people on the hotel roof could have seen them.

"_Ohhhhh Scheiße."_

_T__o Be Continued__…_


	15. Chapter 15

NOTE: Lyrics copyrighted to Lisa Loeb, of course. (I cry every time.)

* * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Elsa, hey!" Honey laughed as they got close enough. "Check this out - there's a little bonfire thing! And it's sanctioned, so we won't get ticketed for starting a fire."

"I think it's the corpse of a luau," Kristoff remarked. "So who's our new buddy?"

"Ah. Zis is Anna," she began, eyes _pleading so hard_ with Honey - though the woman's dark eyebrows still shot up in surprise at the accent anyway. "Anna, zese are my friends, Kristoff and Honey."

"Hey!" the firecracker herself piped up with a little wave. "Oh man, this looks awesome - is there gonna be hula dancers and a roast pig and all that junk? I wish I could stay…"

"You, uh… can't?" Elsa asked.

"Not without a room," she snorted. "But I can grab one on the way back - when I'm like twenty miles away from Resortapalooza and can afford it."

Kristoff started them walking toward the fire, even though he was still looking at Elsa in bewilderment. Inwardly, Elsa was prepared to throw herself into it when they arrived. "Uhhhhh, on your way back where?"

"Arizona. I'm studying in Tempe but I live in Phoenix."

While Elsa mentally filed that away, he answered, "Oof… that's a drive. Say, don't I know you from someplace?"

Honey rolled her eyes as she sipped at the fruity beverage she had ordered. "Arizona? You do much work there, Kris?"

"No… that's not it…"

Elsa suddenly let out a long sigh. "Ahhh, it is a lovely fire. I vould love to stay by it, but perhaps I vill take a valk, ja?"

"Hey, hang on a sec," Anna stalled her with a smile. "There's a couple abandoned guitars over there, let's just… hang? Maybe my friend will show up out here - she knows I play."

"Your friend?" Honey asked suspiciously. _Oh no._

"Yeah. Like, it's this whole crazy-"

"Zat sounds VUNDERBAR!" Elsa burst out nervously, probably grinning too much - or too manically, take your pick. "Please, you vill go get guitar!"

Kristoff bounced like a little kid in a candy store. "Oh - me, too! We can two-man it!"

"Yeah, you play, bro?" Anna asked excitedly as they skipped off. And Elsa _tried_ to enjoy a moment to relax - until she was grabbed by Honey in a vice-like grip.

"_It's her."_

"What?" Elsa squeaked. "I mean… _nej,_ you are crazy! I'm…" In a lower voice, she hissed at her, "Just shut up! Okay?!"

"She drove all the way here to meet you! And you said your movie wasn't coming out for a couple more weeks - _this_ is a movie, girl!"

"It is not! It's an impulsive college girl who… is arguing with her boyfriend too much, and thinks I'm her way out! And I'm not going to take advantage of her! So please, just… play along, and we will part ways, and that will be that!"

While Elsa was breathing hard, warily watching for Anna and Kristoff's return, Honey fixed her with an expression that was almost… _wounded._ She only had just enough time to register it as sympathy before it was too late to respond.

"Got 'em! You know any Tegan and Sara?"

"Not _that_ well," Kristoff laughed as he shouldered the strap. "You know any Dave Matthews?"

"I'm not drunk enough to sound like Dave," she giggled. Elsa couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Um… oh - anyway…"

What else? She began to strum the easy chords to "Wonderwall." Kristoff _lost it_ laughing, and Anna giggled but didn't break the rhythm, so he joined in with extra-whiny vocals. As it turned out, her little strawberry-haired strumpet could do fantastic harmony.

"Vunderbar!" Elsa cried as she and Honey clapped. "I did not know ve vere in the presence of greatness!"

"Yeah, maybe you should draft her into your band," Honey laughed.

Anna began to take the guitar strap from around her neck with a big, sheepish grin. "Nah, I gotta finish school. Buuuut I guess I could transfer to UCLA or something…"

"Aww, you done?" Kristoff moped.

"Yes! Vun more!" Elsa joined in - anything to keep her there. _Anything at all._

"Weeeeeellllll… I have a long drive ahead of me, but…" Squirming, she put the strap back around her shoulders. "I've been thinking about this one a lot. You can jump in with backup if you feel it but I can ride solo."

Something about the way Anna took a breath, sinking down into another mood entirely, gave Elsa the exact same tingle she had when she first heard her by the front desk. Then solitary notes pierced her soul. And then…

"_You say… I only hear what I want to…" _

By that point, her crystalline blue eyes were already wrapped in tears. She knew the song; everyone knew the song. But the more she thought about the lyrics Anna was singing, the more she watched ill-suppressed agony flicker across her face… she understood why it had been on her mind so often.

"_You say I only hear what I want to, I don't listen hard, I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running or to anyone, anywhere… I don't understand if you really care, I'm only hearing negative, no no no, bad…" _

"Elsa?" Honey whispered quietly when she saw how distraught her friend was. But she couldn't even form a response; her entire focus was on Anna.

"_And you said that I was naive and I thought that I was strong… I thought, 'hey, I can leave, I can leave', oh but now I know that I was wrong… 'Cause I missed you. Yeah, I missed you…"_

By the time Anna reached the end of the song, the woman she was searching for had seated herself next to her, gazing straight into her eyes. And when she sang, _"And you say…"_

Elsa provided, _"Stay."_

The firecracker was stunned for just a second. But then she kept playing, and they both harmonised for the final line: _"You say I only hear what I want to…"_

By the time the final notes of her guitar faded completely, all was silent other than the crackle of the fire in the pit by their side. Anna recovered first, clearing her throat to ask, "Where'd your friends go?"

Good question. Everybody was gone. Elsa whispered, "I don't know. But I know why they left."

"I think… I do, too. Definitely wasn't Lisa Loeb hatred. But I don't… want to say anything in case I'm wrong again. Felt dumb enough for one day."

"Say it. If you want."

But instead of a blurted accusation, a hand came to rest on Elsa's wrist as a soft, cautious smile pulled at Anna's lips. "Nah. Now I don't have to, Mountie."

_To Be Continued__…_


	16. Chapter 16

NOTE: Okay I just really liked writing this chapter. It's probably my favourite out of the past 15 and the next few (yes the rough drafts are already in existence). Dunno why exactly. Thanks again for everybody reviewing and reading along, I hope you guys are enjoying!

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Moonlight filled the corners of the night that the receding campfire missed as they walked along the beach. They had unanimously left the fireside after Elsa watched Anna's expression gaining more and more certainty. And wonder: she wasn't sure she had ever seen true, genuine _wonder_ in another person's expression before. Not until now.

"So… what's your real name?"

"Elsa," she told her with a laugh.

"Oh. I guess… I thought that was a character? To go with the accent."

"Sorry. I didn't know what to do when I saw you suddenly there, and panicked. That was… really stupid."

Anna shook her head. They were both carrying their shoes, Chucks in Anna's hand and pricey black heels in Elsa's. Could they be any more different - from different _worlds?_ What an ill-advised mish-mash they were. But it was one she couldn't stop from happening. Didn't _want_ to stop.

"Not stupid. I guess I just… I don't even know what I thought would happen when I got here, but it's all so… _weird._ Am I weird in person?"

"Yes." They both laughed. "But no moreso than usual. No worse than me."

"Then… is it… did you not want to meet me?" She held up her free hand to forestall her answer. "Sorry. That's a super loaded question, I'm a bitch."

Elsa shook her head. "You aren't. I am." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You aren't available, Anna. It's not right for me to pursue this. And I'm… we won't be able to have anything like a healthy relationship because of who I am. So I just… I know that what I've been doing is… foolish, and stupid. But I can't seem to let you go."

At some point, Anna had stopped, and Elsa turned to blink at her. She wasn't sure what she expected to hear her say but it wasn't, "Dude… you're into me."

"Huh?"

"Can't take it back now," she said with a big grin, turning her head a little to the left to appear more mischievous as she leaned forward for emphasis. "You _liiiiike_ me."

"What?! O-of course I like you, we're friends!"

"C'mon, don't try that. You said you didn't want to 'pursue this', which is like, a super nerdy way to say you got the hots for me but can't take me to Poundtown."

Thank God it was dark or her blush would have been visible for miles. "Th-that is _absolutely_ not how I would _ever_ put it."

"Yeah, I know." Anna approached, and at first Elsa backed up… but she was so beautiful under the stars, with the crashing waves in the background, that she felt rooted to the spot. To let the inevitable happen, whatever it might end up being. "Because you're a classy bitch. And _geez_ you're so tall, wow."

Even the word "bitch" didn't hurt coming from Anna.

"Okay," she whispered softly as Anna came to a stop, mere inches away from her. "Maybe… you aren't wrong. But what does it matter?"

"It matters a lot. Because…" She bit her lip. A love confession was coming, and Elsa couldn't hear it - not while there were obstacles in the way. NO! Not "obstacles"; those could be removed, and she didn't want to drastically change both of their lives. Not just for her own greedy desires.

"Wait," she whispered, laying a finger on Anna's lips. "I… you can't."

"Hmmm?" she asked, heeding the request not to speak. Even though she could have easily batted the hand aside.

"You know how I feel about coming out. My contract… and… I don't think you're ready to leave him." Anna's expression turned bleak, so she barrelled ahead, "And you don't know what your life will be like once the public figures out we're together."

Rolling her eyes, she did finally take Elsa's hand. Didn't just smack it - she _took_ it and held on. Did that have to feel so soft and exquisite? "So what? They can't hurt me."

"They can. Nobody knows you're Roxanne _now_, but wait until thirsty paparazzi get ahold of your picture. I can't stand the thought of me ruining the rest of your life."

"Well… I mean, it didn't ruin MIa Khalifa, so…"

"Who?"

"Nevermind." She laid both hands on Elsa's shoulders now; when did she drop her shoes? "Listen. It's super sweet that you're trying to white knight me-"

"I told you before, that isn't-"

"-but I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl with big girl panties." She added a wink. "You bought me some of them."

"You haven't seen it," Elsa protested weakly, cupping the shorter girl's cheek. She leaned into it and it took concentrated effort not to get highly distracted. "People destroyed by their reputations. Both of us would be, but I knew what I was getting into with this business. You don't; not really, not from the inside like I do."

Anna let out a weak laugh. "Actually, the way you talk about your mom and dad, you didn't, either."

"Well… okay, that's true. But I could always change careers; I _chose_ to remain in the public eye as an adult."

"What if I want to choose to be internationally known as some slutty camgirl if it means I'm _your_ slutty camgirl?" When Elsa didn't respond right away, she let out a soft laugh, leaning down to bump her forehead against her shoulder. "Wow. This is… like, I don't know why I'm surprised I have it as bad as you do. Like, I'm in LA!"

"Santa Barbara."

"Whatever. Point is, I drove to another _state_ to meet you. That's big for just some acquaintance, but normal for a crush."

"Anna…" She pet over her soft hair, relishing the warmth. "Are we really making this mistake together? Are we that hopeless?"

"Looks like it."

"What about classes? Your anonymity? Hans?"

"Fuck all that. I'm… I can worry about them tomorrow."

Rolling her eyes toward the moon, as if asking for help, she pulled that trim, warm body closer against her own. Staving off the chill wind of the mild SoCal winter. "You make it sound so easy. To ignore consequences."

"It is. Dealing with them's still gonna be hard if I stress, so why stress? At least this way, I get to enjoy right now. With you."

Neither of them said anything more for a while. They just stood there and tried to use each other's body heat as a shield against a cold, unforgiving world.

_T__o Be Continued__…_


	17. Chapter 17

NOTE: So... I'm just going to throw this one out there and go hide in a bomb shelter. Enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

_"Emergency!"_

Honey glanced from Elsa's sandy feet to her panicked expression. "Uhhh… welcome back?"

"I don't know what to do," she hissed urgently. Kristoff, for his part, was just looking awkward because he was in boxers on the bed when his girlfriend's costar burst in unexpectedly. At least Honey was wearing a robe. "Th-this is so unexpected, and I'm freaking out, and- how do people handle situations like these? I'm completely out of my element!"

"Okay, breathe," she instructed her, laying her hands firmly on Elsa's shoulders. The ones _Anna had touched_ \- this was like a crazy fever dream. "She's here, and she wants to get to know you! Let her! It's not really that-"

"She's sitting on my _bed_ right now! Where she's about to _sleep!"_

"Whoa, what? That is… quite a leap forward, girl."

Throwing up her hands helplessly, she began to initiate her favourite anxious activity: pacing. "What was I supposed to do? We have no idea what we're doing, but she doesn't have the money to get a room here - or anywhere nearby. So it's either let her use my room, or I buy her one which she would refuse, or she drives home to Arizona, and… I just…"

"Whoa, whoa, you still aren't breathing. Just… sit." Honey pointed at the corner of the bed and she sat. Kristoff edged away uncomfortably, since he had already been admonished for flirting with a lesbian once. "My fault, I thought you meant you two were…"

"Were?" Elsa grimaced when she caught up. "No. I'm a virgin, Honey; she's the first girl I've even been serious about, much less… anything physical. We hugged on the beach and I almost melted."

"Wow. Somebody found a way to melt the Ice Queen."

"Honey!"

Tittering, she swatted Elsa's shoulder. "This is a good thing! Loosen up. Take a bath with her; these whirlpool tubs are amazing." When Elsa's eyes turned into dinner plates, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, too far _again._ I swear you were raised by the Amish."

"I'm sure I've seen her somewhere," Kristoff was muttering. "Was she in an episode of the show?"

"Try to keep up, Kris," Honey admonished him. "She's not a celebrity; just someone Elsa knew online."

Finally, the neurotic blonde stood and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to block out the inner storm of emotions. It began to settle. "Okay… you're right. I'm not powerless, she isn't powerless. Nothing has to happen unless we want it, and if we want it, then… then we want it. But what if I'm bad?"

Her costar laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll get it. Still, if you're that worried, then set ground rules. Just tell her you're not ready. Easy."

"So you say." Then she summoned a weak smile and a "Thanks", patting her hand before turning back to the door between their rooms.

"Good luck!" Honey hissed in a stage whisper.

Then she was alone with Anna. An Anna who had already brought in her bag - which was a big, battered old backpack with a slew of patches from cartoons and video games sewn all over its surface. _She was a kid._ Elsa felt dirty, like she was lurking on a playground.

"Hey, welcome back," she said with a huge, beaming smile as she dug around in it. "I figured if I'm gonna sleep in this room-sized bed with another person, I should shower. I kinda panic-left and I didn't shower today, so like… I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"It's fine," she laughed quietly. Starting, she gestured toward the minifridge in the corner. "Would you like something? There's probably spring water, maybe a diet cola, or…"

Anna blinked at her for a minute. "You're nervous. Like, you know I'm nobody and _you're_ the big star, right? So why are _you_ nervous some dumb kid drove all the way here without you even asking?"

"Because… I'm… crazy," she finally wound up saying. "I know I'm blowing everything out of proportion. Go shower, I'll… tidy up." Then she laughed softly to herself.

"What?" Anna asked, finally pulling out some underwear and an outsize tee.

"Honey said we should take a bath together."

"Sounds like she ships us even harder than we do," she giggled. "But yeah, c'mon, let's go."

"REALLY?!" Clearing her throat, she tried again: "I m-mean, really?"

"Sure. Nothing's going to happen; trust me, water is a _terrible_ lubricant."

After a moment of squirming, looking at Anna's unflinching gaze, she took a deep breath. "You're right. And…" Biting her lips, she finally made herself say, "You get in first. I think it's my turn to show you a little something." She would _have_ to if this relationship was going to progress. Ill-advised as that was.

"You don't have to, man. I can tell from here that you're hot, so like, it'd just be redundant." Still, she paced toward the bathroom. "Grab your jammies and come on in whenever!"

What else could she do? Elsa did spend a few minutes pacing, worrying about the consequences, but she knew there was no resisting this decision; Anna wanted to bathe together. She was _comfortable_ with the idea. And sooner or later, she would have to be just as comfortable, even if not with Anna specifically. So it was either live in fear, or take a small step for her own sake.

"Just one step tonight," she breathed as she grabbed her nightgown and approached the bathroom door. "If she can't handle who you are then it's better to know now. Just… step. Step again." Once she finally made it, she opened the door.

Anna had her back to her. Those gorgeous shoulders were on display, dusted with inviting freckles, slender neck hidden only partially by locks of loose red hair. Laying her clothes next to Anna's big tee, she started to strip.

"It's nice and warm," Anna promised her in a contented tone. "And like, I found this lavender stuff and put it in here - doesn't it smell amazing?"

"It does," she agreed, stomach fluttering with anxiety. It was too much to have her look now; she would wait. "Now… I know it's silly, but do you promise not to look? I'm very self-conscious about my body. The studio is still angry that I won't do swimsuit shots, either in the show or the magazines. Think I'm a prude."

As Anna covered her eyes, she laughed, "God, why _do_ you like me? I'm not anything like that."

"Maybe that's why," she giggled as she dipped her toes in. "Oooh… oh, it's hot- AH!"

Poor Elsa. The heat surprised her just enough that combined with her nerves, she lost her footing and wound up sitting down heavily. Directly onto the _worst possible_ place she could land.

_To Be Continued…_


	18. Chapter 18

WARNING: This chapter is mildly NSFW.

NOTE: Apologies for the delay! I had to go to bed extra early last night because I had a busy, dizzy day today. Hopefully you enjoy this update regardless!

REPLY TO **Quickened**: Yes, that was the exact reason! A relatable problem for those of us who are accident prone, but also very anime-trope-y.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"_HemmmMRPHLG!" _

That was the best description of what came out of Anna's mouth. Worse yet, Elsa could _feel_ every vibration in one of the most sensitive areas on her body. She squeaked and scrambled down into the water as quickly as was humanly possible, but it was too late. _Far_ too late.

"I… I'm sorry, Anna, I'm so clumsy, what- I normally can handle myself! I'm a _runway model,_ for God's sake! UGH! What is _wrong_ with me?!"

But Anna was still dazed. Just sitting there with her glittering emerald eyes blinking at the tiles opposite herself, not even looking at Elsa. And the star understood; she had a lot to process now.

"Anna? Are… you angry with me?" She swallowed down the spike of pure adrenaline. "You are. I'm… I am so sorry. Maybe I should go."

"Go? It's… your room." Then she finally let out a weak little laugh. "Wow, so… that was… super unexpected; I'm stunned over here. Like, you glow up like _whoa_. So gorgeous!"

The actor wrapped her arms tightly around her body, as she normally did in these situations. Not that one quite like _this_ had ever happened before. Blood rushed in her ears as she shrank in on herself, chest tight, literally shaking. Craving a way to dive down deep into the bubbling waters. "I… I should have told you, I… you…"

"Oh, no, no, it's cool! _Woke_, remember? I'm not gonna judge, no way." There was that word again. When there was no response, she tried, "Elsa?"

But she couldn't speak. This was a _nightmare._ She had never accidentally come out to someone before; it was always a choice, and she had a speech lined up, and steps she could take. Plans to ease her anxiety. And now it was all coming apart, her world was-

Trim arms wrapped tightly around her, squeezing tight. Elsa thrashed for just a second before she registered a cheek rubbing her shoulder and remembered it wasn't someone trying to hurt her. It was Anna. A friend.

"You're okay. I got you."

Still trembling, she slowly began to nod. "I… was going to tell you. Right now. I just… didn't mean to-"

"No big. Like I said, I'm no Boomer; you're whoever you are in your heart. But _damn,_ girl, you look _so_ good. I'm losing my shit over here!"

"Thank you," she sighed with a weak smile. Here came _this_ part; it was unavoidable. "I just… want to be taken seriously based on my talent alone. Honey and the casting director, and my agent, and um, the guy who plays my romantic interest are the only ones who know on set. Funny, Brixton took the news a lot easier, but he still… freaked out a little, and then overcompensated by flattering me a lot. That's why I'm not out, why… I don't do swimsuit calendars, or nude scenes, or… it's just going to draw attention, and then I'll be Laverne. She's so gracious about being a poster child, but I just have never had any desire for that to define me, or… all that attention focused on my private life instead of my career."

"No, yeah, I kinda get it. Like… I'm never gonna know what you're going through with either thing, the acting or, um, _that_." She pointed down toward the surface of the water, and Elsa sank lower in embarrassment. "But I mean, I told you I'm bi. So that part doesn't matter to me. If you're a woman, you're a woman, y'know? And if you're a woman who's packing some heat, well hey, I know how to handle one of those so it's definitely not a dealbreaker for me!"

Elsa chuckled and flashed her a morose smile. "I suppose that makes sense."

"And this is still gonna be my first real lesbian thing, if we go past sitting in a tub together," she laughed. "Besides one girl I made out with at a frat party. And she had _braces,_ so I can totally strike her from the record."

"Ew!" she laughed. "I hope they were clean!"

"They were, she's a good brusher. Just like, the metal… it felt weird, couldn't get past it. Maybe that makes me a dick, I dunno."

"A _dink?"_ They shared a knowing grin. "Thanks for being so good about this - all of it. And I know, I'm not supposed to be grateful, since my gender is valid and so on. But I still can only think about how bad this would go if you weren't so progressive."

"Progressive? Like I'm a name-your-price tool? Dude, I'm just normal. It's the douchebags who _wouldn't_ accept you who are, like… what's the opposite of progressive? Regressive? They're that."

Finally, Elsa felt the knot of anxiety ease… and elation took over. _Everything was fine._ She had come out to Anna and she wasn't rejected, she wasn't being viewed as a monster. Christmas had arrived a little late for her but it was just as welcome as if it had been on time.

"Soooo. Just to get this big ol' elephant outta here, you did sit on my face. Since we're gay does that mean we did it?"

"BLRPHG!" she burst out — being that she had tried to shout something while also ducking her head low enough the water covered her mouth. Then she started coughing said water up, and Anna had to pound her on the back. "Ah! Oooh, that… that did not feel good."

"Didn't sound good! Sorry… I'm just trying to lighten the mood or something."

"Right! Of course. But… for that to be true, I would have to have gone through with bottom surgery. And I haven't yet."

"So? Like, I still got a mouthful of your ballllllgina!" she hastily amended, wincing and grimacing hard after she finished the fused word. "That. Um, I… yeah, that was super fucking dumb, I don't know what I'm say...ing?"

She trailed off because Elsa was laughing. Really truly laughing again, rocking back as her ruddy cheeks bunched, arms still clamped tight around her waist. Anna merely sat there with a raised eyebrow until she burst out, _"Ballgina!"_

"Okay, okay," she giggled weakly, ears reddening. "S-sometimes I sound like a doof, I know this."

"You're utterly adorable." Then she leaned in, intending to hug her.

Instead, her lips found another set and they shared a very unexpected first kiss.

_To Be Continued…_


	19. Chapter 19

RESPONSES (knew THESE would be coming):

**Alienzz**: No worries! I knew the short-but-fast release schedule wouldn't appeal to everyone.

**Mimico Florido**: They confuse me a lot too! In canon! So I wanted to bring that into this fic, that Agnarr and Iduna are equally well-meaning but harmful. As for when she transitioned, that will be answered in a future chapter.

**Guest**: Thank you for (probably inadvertently) helping to illustrate exactly why I wrote this arc the way I wrote it. To challenge perceptions and expectations. What precisely made you assume Elsa was cis? What made you assume _any_ character was cis? Fair enough, Anna could be comfortably thought of as such because she's a camgirl and no one pointed it out, but what about everyone else in the story? Also, "If she wants bottom surgery" is a very important question; does she want it? Is she _sure_ she wants it? Because there's no going back; it cannot be undone. And I don't think everything has to be spelled out; most readers can manage to pick up inferences. Writing is about balance, not hitting people over the head with concepts; I try not to talk down to the audience. As for the pacing, I know it's a bit rushed, but it felt like my choices were that, or to draw it out needlessly. And believe me, it's not going to be over once they become more intimate.

* * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Anna went stock still as their lips connected. It was magical, even if they barely enjoyed the contact before the starlet drew away, pushing her hand into her mouth.

"Oh. I'm…"

"Whoa," the younger woman breathed, turning to stare into the corner. "Ohhhh, that was… intense."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do something so forward out of the blue, I just… wanted to hug you, I don't…"

Anna took her own turn laying her index finger across Elsa's lips, cutting off further protests. "Dude, chill. It was just a kiss; a really nice one, but I'm not gonna die from it. And this one was on me, because I moved."

"Okay." Eyes leaking tears of frustration, she heaved a shaky sigh before confessing, "A lot is happening in a short time. I get to meet you, I pulled that stupid accent, you sang to me, and then I come out, now we're kissing… this is worse than an episode of my show. And that's saying something."

"What show? Wait… you didn't want me to know," she reminded herself.

"Oh… you might as well know now that you're in my hotel room. I'm Elsa Norberg. You might not know me unless you watch daytime soaps or used to watch Disney and Nickelodeon."

Though Anna had been shaking her head, one of her eyebrows raised a little bit in curiosity. "Like, _old_ Nick? Wait…" Now she leaned very far forward to squint at Elsa's features, and the normally-poised actor had to fight down a giggle fit at her crush being that close. _"Elsie North?!_ That chick who played Reenie on _Dot And Vanessa?!"_

"Yep, you got it," she laughed.

"Holy SHIT! I used to watch that show all the time! Wow, you dyed your hair - wait, you dye it now or you dyed it then? It looks pretty natural…"

"Dyed it then. That's also where the stage name came in; weird Aryan-looking girls from Sweden weren't the _in_ thing at the time. All-American 'girls next door' were."

"Maaaan…" Clearly, she was a little starstruck but not as badly as other people she had met in her life. "You totally carried that show. It was dumb as hell and that guy who played Freddy was annoying; without you it would have been one season and done."

Laughing a lot louder, she gently pushed Anna's shoulder. "No, no. The two main characters were also good. But you're right, the scripts were almost as bad as the ones I'm working with now on my soap opera."

"Which one?"

_"Into The Unknown."_

"Ohhhh. Yeah, I've seen it on when I'm home sick or during the summer, but I don't really watch those things. No offense!" she added with a raised hand, as if to ward off Elsa's wrath. But her new friend just shrugged.

"None taken. The cast and crew are great, like family to me, but the scripts are the same cheesiness as every other soap opera."

The redhead nodded over toward the connecting door to the other suite. "That where she's from? She's really pretty, so I figure she must be another actor. That guy _definitely_ isn't."

"No," she laughed in agreement. "Decidedly not. But he seems like a decent guy so far; this is my first time meeting him."

"Oh yeah… you did tell me you don't have very many close friends. I hope you're letting her in now. Well, unless she turns out to be a bitch, and then I'm totally okay with you ghosting her."

Rolling her eyes, she scooted closer. Even though it was hard to feel comfortable doing so, she wanted to _try._ "So far, so good. Don't worry."

"Yeah." Anna slipped her arm around her that easily. Leaned into her, nuzzled her neck. "Mmm…"

"Oooh…"

"Too much?"

"No, no. I just wasn't expecting… any of this."

Her other hand began to pet Elsa's stomach. "You say that like I was, but like… it's whatever. Life happens."

"It does. In very unexpected ways." But she couldn't entirely suppress a reaction to all this physical attention. Who could have?

"Elsa… you feel really good."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. I, um… like I said, I like girls but just, um…" She took a quick breath. "I kinda… only dated guys, because I was worried it wouldn't be the same. Dumb, huh? Obviously girls are fun to cuddle, too. Guess I was just being weird."

"You're talking to someone who's in the closet because her homophobic studio thinks it's bad for the conservative homemaker demographic," she snorted. "That's probably the stupidest reason."

"Nah. You have to work to eat. Like, obviously you can eat freakin' lobster whenever you want, _but_ you couldn't if you got yourself kicked off the show, right? I get that. I don't really _want_ to strip for internet randos, either; it's just work I don't mind and I'm good at it. Like most jobs."

"More than just 'good'. But I'm also sure you could go legit if you wanted to, you're so charismatic."

Grinning, she hugged her tighter. Elsa finally let herself hug her back, humming very quietly in appreciation for the closeness. "You nerd. But like… you're sweet. And you feel good. I could get used to it, and I wanna."

But what about Hans? Elsa thought it, didn't say it; she couldn't ruin this moment. Had already tried to before and it didn't work, so now she just wanted to enjoy this sweet creature in her arms. One she was embracing… then sliding her hand from hip to shoulder… up her neck, tilting her chin upward…

Kissing. This was a real, deep, passionate kiss that they both found themselves throwing themselves into with abandon, lips kneading, tongues tentatively poking at bottom lips. Elsa felt like she was _coming home_ for the first time in ten years. So delicious… did everyone enjoy this as much as she was now? What a beautiful world they lived in.

Of course, it didn't take long for Anna to slide into her lap. And not long after that… she drew back from the kiss with a small smirk.

"Well, _hello._"

_To Be Continued…_


	20. Chapter 20

WARNING: this chapter is _definitely_ NSFW.

NOTE: I will be taking a short break to work on a few things before posting chapter twenty-one. I chose this as the stopping point because it's a very nice chapter to end on; no cliffhanger haha. But I promise, in a week or so I'll be back posting more!

RESPONSES:  
**Mimico Florido**: You know I didn't think about it in those terms; this would be the fanfic equivalent of daily comic strips. Three small, easily-digestible panels of amusement to enjoy over your morning coffee.  
**Ottoline Otter**: I think the reviewer after you put it best (thanks, **Yami Rhino**): "Not every trans person wants surgery, not every trans person has issues with their own genitalia." In a story that's 19 chapters so far, having _two_ chapters that even _mention_ genitals is "focusing super heavily"? Believe me, I understand your desire to make sure the subject is handled with care, but perhaps you should take a step back and weigh whether or not you are the one hyperfocusing - or being hypercritical. But thank you for your input regardless.

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY

"This… doesn't _have_ to lead anywhere, Anna," she whispered, trying to suppress her anxiety spikes. It was okay. It was _Anna_, it was okay.

"Usually leads one place with me. Though some guys prefer a couple of other places," she mused with her head tilted to the side. It only took her a moment to sit bolt upright and say, "N-not that you're a guy! That's not- I mean, just cause you have… wow, my mouth gets dumber every day…"

Elsa snorted and reached up to pet over her hair. "You're still taking this better than I expected. Especially given… how you found out."

"Nawww, come on, that was the _best_ way," she giggled, recovering as she settled back down, grinding on Elsa in a way that she was _not totally sure_ she was okay with, but was okay enough with it not to ask her to stop. "Right in my face! And like… I can feel you're ready for me. If you think you have to wait until you romance me or some shit…"

"But I _do_ want to romance you," she whined, and pressed on while ignoring the adorable coo from Anna at how "cute" she was being. "Why shouldn't I? You're so beautiful, and sweet, and thoughtful, and… and you deserve-"

"I'm getting what I want. You. This is romantic to me, y'know? Just us, doing what comes natural. As long as we're both comfortable, both into it… I don't want to wait."

Elsa drew back to gaze up at her with bedroom eyes that she had no control over. She couldn't hold out much longer, even though she had held out for twenty-three years. "You're sure? I feel like… I'm just… treating you like an object. That I had you one-day-shipped to me like the 3DS."

"I'm not complaining," she giggled. "Except you're wrong. Cause I came here on my own, drove my own crappy little Metro all the way to Cali. My choice. I'm where I wanna be, Mountie."

"God, that nickname… I'm not even Canadian."

"Just say 'aboot'. Come on, one time."

"No."

"Come ooooon…" But instead, Elsa blew a raspberry on her neck - and Anna _shrieked,_ flailing around in the tub. "OH MY GOOOODOMIGODNOoooo_OOOOO_oooOO!"

Even just this was like heaven. She wished they could be like that all the time. But they couldn't. Still, as tempting as it was to use that as an excuse to pull the plug on everything… she would be strong. Anna convinced her that she shouldn't and she didn't feel like walking back on all that now.

So she picked her up, awkwardly carrying her into the bedroom. Anna shrieked and giggled even more, slapping her shoulder one time as if to tell her to put her down - except she couldn't bring herself to say it. Then she flopped the teenager down onto the bedspread, watching her bounce with an elated grin of her own.

"You're getting your bed all wet!"

"Ask me if I care."

"Do you cammmphhh… _mmm…"_ It was so easy to start that again, and Elsa found herself praying her lips would never have to be anywhere else.

Her hips seemed to feel the same way. She continued to roll them blindly, allowing instincts to rule her as she practically devoured this girl in her arms. Someone who actually wanted her, warts and all. For who she was.

It was Anna who finally broke the kiss to lean up and whisper into her ear, "Go ahead, I'm… on the pill, you won't- Good fucking _God_, I'm so wet…"

"And you're worried about my bed again?" she playfully remarked, earning a breathy titter.

"Shut up and fuck me."

"The mouth on you, sailor…" But before Anna could deliver another retort, she did as she was asked.

"AH!" she gasped out as their bodies fused, eyes fluttering shut and head falling back. "Oh- OHHHHH, WHOA! How the hell did you ever hide this _monster cock?!"_

"Carefully," Elsa groaned - though she could barely think to respond. Only her acting skills saved her, otherwise she would have been too overcome with the _incredible_ sensation of the sweetest girl she had ever known being a part of her. Even if only for tonight.

Now they began to move. And pleasure evolved to a whole other level. Elsa was awkward because it was her first time, but Anna clearly had dealt with virgins before; she knew exactly how to move her hips to match the movements, hooking her ankles around Elsa's back to shepherd her. The steady moans didn't hurt, either. They stoked each other's fires hotter and hotter with every shift of their bodies, every pulse of their sexes against the other. If she had known this could be so good, maybe she would have breached that contract ages ago.

But it was good she hadn't. This way, she got to save herself for Anna.

"A-ah! I'm gonna cum!" Anna panted minutes later - how many, Elsa had no idea. "Wow, you are just… hitting me right!"

"You're… guiding me!" Elsa accused. Anna's only response was a little giggle. "Is this right? You're really…?"

"Mmh!" she groaned while nodding. "Fucking me right! I…"

"Anna!" she gasped before pounding harder. She was a little worried about if she would be able to finish, thanks to her hormones, but if anyone would get her there without it being a problem… it was _definitely_ this ravishing redhead.

Though of course, it was Anna who came first. Even though the actor had studied this kind of thing a lot when first looking into bottom surgery for herself, _feeling_ those silky walls fluttering around herself was another matter; it was as if Anna's body were begging for her release.

So it got what it wanted.

"OH!" Anna gasped when she felt the proof of the finish filling her. "Whoa, Elsa, I- OH WOW, that's a lot! Thaaaaat is a LOT, holy SHIT! MMHHHH!"

Letting out a breathy laugh, Elsa held as still as she could while her flesh pulsed, finishing up its climax. Then she flopped down onto Anna's body with a sigh of mingling elation and relief.

"Ooof, you're… heavy!" Anna grunted. "Not like, fat, just like… a whole person… on top of me! HELP!"

But Elsa only laughed. She wanted to be a person-blanket for just one moment more.

_To Be Continued…_


End file.
